Although not everyone with rosacea experience it affecting the eye, ocular rosacea—what the problem is coined is a quite frequent rosacea problem to occur. If you are suffering from facial rosacea, which tends to occur in and affect the nose, you should be attentive about the possibility of having it spread into an ocular rosacea, which affects your eyes. It is important to treat ocular rosacea immediately and thoroughly, as if left untreated, this problem may develop into more severe problem and lead to corneal damage that causes vision loss.
Major symptoms of ocular rosacea
Rosacea tends to occur first on the nose, causing redness and bumpy skin surface. When untreated, this facial rosacea may cause the growth of the nose, causing it to be bigger than its original size. Rosacea may also spread into the neck, eyes, and head. An ocular rosacea should get closer attention, as it may be able to cause corneal damage which may lead to vision loss. Being attentive to some symptoms occurring with an ocular rosacea will enable you to determine proper treatments before it develops to something causing damages to your entire health. Those developed symptoms might include:
- Severe dryness of the eye.
- Burning and itching sensation of the eye.
- Irritation of the eye, eye lining, and eyelids.
- Redness of the eyelids.
- Over-sensitivity of light.
Rosacea of the eye home remedies
If you have ever developed rosacea on your body parts, those symptoms occurring to the eye might be a sign of similar problem. If the problem is mild, you can try to do a self-care and treat the problem at home. In fact, some home remedies are believed to be effective in treating ocular rosacea—at least, minimizing the caused discomfort and pain.
Promoting lid hygiene
The main symptom of an ocular rosacea commonly occurs in the eyelid. Hence, an effective remedy for the problem usually involves the hygiene of this eyelid. Clean the eyelids twice a day using a Q-tip soaked in water or water with a drop of mild baby shampoo. Warm water works best, and do not forget to rinse or wipe the lid off with water if you are using shampoo to clean it.
Artificial tears
If you are experiencing a severely dry eye induced by rosacea, artificial tears in a form of eye drops can be helpful. This will lubricate the eye ball, preventing it from causing irritation inside the eye. Use this artificial tears according to its direction, or twice a day; in the morning after waking up and at night before sleeping. A home dehumidifier is also helpful for improving a very dry eye.
Avoid irritating agents
To promote faster and proper healing, it is important for you to avoid irritating agents which can worsen the ocular rosacea. Thus, make sure your eye makeup is natural-based and does not contain any irritating fragrance. Temporarily stop wearing contact lenses during the healing period. Artificial eye lashes should also be taken off as the glue may aggravate the problem. Do not forget to cleanse all the make-up you are wearing before bed time.
Warm compress
As for some other irritation and allergies problems, warm compresses work very well. Lukewarm compresses promote sufficient blood supply to the affected area, so that faster healing can be obtained. You can soak a cotton ball into a bowl of warm water which has been added with a pinch of salt. Afterwards, put the cotton ball onto the eye suffering from ocular rosacea and leave it for approximately 10 seconds. You can also gently wipe the eyelids using the cotton ball and salt-and-water solution. Repeat the treatment for several times until the burning sensation subsides.
UV protection sunglasses
Sunlight may aggravate an ocular rosacea. Hence, it is important to wear sunglasses to protect the infected eye from direct sunlight. The sunglasses also protect the eye from debris which may irritate the infected eye and worsen the symptoms. Reading glasses can also be put on while you are working on a computer. This may reduce the sense of dryness occurring with an ocular rosacea.
Sufficient fluids
Water is incredibly important for the body, including the eye suffering from rosacea. Drink sufficient amount of water to keep your body hydrated, since dehydration may worsen the symptoms of ocular rosacea.