Eye's Cont'd:

[limewave]

Other possibilities besides allergies: Psoriasis or Blepharitis. I was actually diagnosed with Blepharitis as a kid . . . I am starting a regime of washing my eyelids with Baby Shampoo. I need some relief!!!! Blepharitis can be irritated by allergens, dust in the air, sweat, etc. Maybe????

[emily_in_nc]

Wow. It surely sounds like something in that office environment -- some kind of chemical allergy, perhaps. I guess stress is a possibility but seems unlikely to me. I have never seen anything like that, and I have allergies to cats that used to cause my eyes to swell shut as a child (much milder now, I just get a little itchy in the eyes). But I never had that kind of redness. So mysterious! Please keep us posted and good luck with this.

[climbergirl]

For what it's worth, Limewave, give the baby shampoo a chance to work.

I had weird swelling and peeling on my eyelid, first one, then both, off and on for over a year. It would come on stronger with stress, stay days to weeks, then disappear. Itchy, red, peeling, swollen, misery.

After doing some research, I determined that old soap can actually grow mold. I'd been using facial scrub that was about 5 years old (they brand discontinued it, so I bought up like ten bottles.) And mold or fungus or bacteria in soap can cause... you guessed it: blepharitis.

I started washing my face and eyelids with J&J baby shampoo daily, and after a couple of weeks it cleared up and hasn't come back for at least 6 months, despite those 6 months being some of the most stressful of my life.

I use the baby shampoo as my only face wash now, and it's actually helped keep zits to a minimum, too, I think. I use a good moisturizer afterwards, but I keep THAT away from my eye area.

Also - I wear NO makeup, EVER. That helped narrow it down for me.

Good luck. I know how miserable you must be!

[limewave]

Update:
I've been washing with baby soap about 4 times a day (first thing in the AM, lunch, afternoon/dinner, and bedtime). Then I apply a bit of Aquaphor to moisturize the skin. I am very cautiously optimistic. The redness and irritation/burning has decreased some but I am still experiencing quite a bit of swelling.

Being exposed to dust and consuming peanuts both seem to increase irritation of the eyes. I have been avoiding both as much as possible. My office space was professionally cleaned since my last visit and there was a noticeable difference in how my eyes reacted. It was much better.

I had to cancel my allergist appointment as it was nerly $2,000 and not covered by insurance I have a dermatologist appointment scheduled, but I'm waiting to find out what the cost estimate is going to be--I may need to cancel that one as well.

[ny biker]

$2000 to see an allergist?? And why is it not covered by insurance?

[jessmarimba]

Random reply, and it's my eyes and inner eyelids that are itchy (not the outside...your photo looks so painful!) - but after having massive allergy attacks and sneezing for hours every Saturday after a long run, I think I have a pretty harsh exercise-induced allergic reaction. I thought all this time that my sweat was bothering my eyes, but I now think they get itchy and watery just from running, period. My ridiculously rainy marathon in Maine was the absolute only time I have finished a long run of any sort and felt just fine. So now it's MY turn to try and find an allergist.

For the time being, I'm about to slip into a Benadryl-induced coma and I'll wake up tomorrow, scrape the crust off my eyes, and get on with a normal Sunday.

[WindingRoad]

Blepharitis can also be secondary to sebaceous dermatitis. SD is alot of time as chronic condition. It can improve, almost go away then come back worse. Head and shoulders now makes a shampoo just for SD. You might want to give this a try. When you workout make sure you rinse off all the salty sweat. Another great product if this is SD is CereVe moisturizer and face wash. They aren't expensive are work better than any if the pricey stuff I have tried.