Comments on: ocular demodex, tea tree oil as a treatment

By: Neil Madigan

Neil Madigan — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:32:07 +0000

Hello Melanie

Just read you comments on the Rosacea support org site regarding Tea Tree oil.

I have been trying to deal with Rosacea for two years now and can highly recommend using tea tree oil.

I started getting Rosacea two years ago when I was on a trip in Europe on a small cruise boat between Split & Dubrovnik. It happened overnight, suggesting it may have been something I had come in contact with. Perhaps in the bed linen. I had this 20mm red blotch on the side of my nose. It went way after a week but has continued to return in smaller typical Rosacea inflammations since.

My dermatologist put me on Doxycycliine a year ago and this does keep it under control, 50mg twice a day. Whenever I stop the Doxy it returns with a vengeance. So back on the Doxy.

Now for the good news. I have recently, three weeks now started using Tea tree Oil after reading an article on the internet. I purchased a 50ml bottle of 15% TTO in a water soluble solution. I also brought a 100% bottle and mix the two to make a 50% solution. I have been applying this 10 times a day to my nose and eyebrows with amazing results. it does burn, just a little, not for long, 10 seconds, and it has rejuvenated my skin.

I was also having trouble with very sore eyes. I have had cataract surgery to replace the lenses in both eyes and my eyesight if terrific, but suffer from dry eyes. Sitting in an air-conditioned office in front of a computer screen does not help as I tend not to blink near as much as I should. Tea tree oils has helped this greatly as the application releases vapours that make me blink. I saw my eye surgeon last week and he said I had indication of demorex in my eye lashes, they leave marks on the eyelashes at the base where they attach themselves, but he could not find any. and he suggested I continue with the treatment. Ensure you keep the TTO out of your eyes, as it will burn a little and should be washed out with drops if you get any under your eyelids.

My current theory is that I may have contracted the Demorex on the boat trip and I may now have them under control. I have had occasional relapses, one just this weekend, but it lasted only two days and has dries up already. I wonder if I will ever get rid of Rosacea for good, as they may be other causes, eg Red wine which I am partial to. I also have an identical twin brother that does not get Rosacea (yet), we shall see. I am also using TTO soap and have stopped the Doxy completely, and I do feel much better as the Doxy has side effects and no antibiotic should be taken longer than necessary.

Good luck, please let me now how you go.

By: susanne

susanne — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:35:09 +0000

melanie, I am sorry but I have no real different ideas about TTO..I would just want to be really careful about my eyes… My doc told me to use a drop of baby-shampoo in a small cup of water and mix it, then clean the rims with this liquid by help of a q-tip, every morning..
However I was fascinated when reading about your ideas about cleaning your face and your eyes.
I have lots of problems with ocular inflammation, and since February a huge hordeolum (sty) on my right eye. Every now and then there are new spots of inflammations of my lid rims. What exactly are you doing to your eyes? Using olive oil on them too?
Thanks for telling us about your experiment, and your ideas and hope to hear more from you. Bye, Susanne

By: melanie

melanie — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:16:58 +0000

i devised my own treatment for my irritated eyelids, so here it goes: started 06-08-09 i started using men’s crew brand shampoo with tea tree oil, as shampoo and face wash. i let it sit on my face and hair while i scrub the rest of me in the shower. i’ve also been using jojoba oil (antinflammatory) and castor oil on my face for cleansing. it came to my attention the other day that i put olive oil in my cat’s ears to kill mites – old time remedy and i know it works. so, the first 2 days i had notable itching to my face, eyebrows particularly. i don’t have thick eyebrows and have sparse lashes. well, it’s about day 10 and my daytime irritation around the rims of my eyelids is way less and still having itching but it’s not as big of a deal. OMG, is this stuff working??? i’m afraid to use full strength TTO right on my eyelids. i may go see my opthalmologist soon and fess up about this just to see what he says. he told me i would have to use restasis daily for the rest of my life after he put in the punctal plugs. somebody e-mail me and tell me about how you are doing this if you have different ideas on products or whatever. i’d love to compare symptoms and stuff with y’all. thanks, melanie meiel@aol.com

By: Maridel

Maridel — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:24:27 +0000

I am reading with interest about the dermodex mites. Can you not just use a tea tree cleansing bar on your face and eyes? Is it not strong enough?

By: melanie

melanie — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:22:29 +0000

wow, i’m just today reading about this stuff. i have RA and rosacea on my face, which i gave up on years ago, but it’s the ocular rosacea that is just simply driving me mad. i had puntal plugs put in about a year ago and it was the most relief and most comfortable i can ever remember my eyes being. it was miraculous. well, this TTO thing, mites, eye lid washes……i’d be willing to go through the whole thing. y’all send me updates when you hear anything. i’ll talk to my doctors about it. you know how they are, if it’s not a treatment in the standard of care, they just blow it off. good luck to you all. melanie

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:23:46 +0000

I noticed my vision had deteriorated in my left eye about 4 months ago. Rubbing some 25% Tea Tree oil over my left eyelid and over the slit between my clenched lids
a) Burned like hell and made my eye water.
b) Improved my left eye vision by about 200%.
This was an accidental discovery, and I thought, someone else must
know about this. I googled [tea tree oil vision] and found this page.
Thanks for the info.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:03:53 +0000

So Jasper ! Can you use TTO diluted on the cheeks? What else has worked for you that is simple, available and effective? Both hair, eyes and face ? Thanks.

By: jasper

jasper — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:14:40 +0000

thankyou, yes indeed. i do get somewhat over-strenuous in my opinions. many thanks for your moderating influence, and many wise words in general.

as regards my own experience when trying diluted tea tree oil on my eyelids .. yes, there was some evidence of clearing of redness. and my ocular rosacea would affect my eyelids much more than the eyes themselves – i would have been much happier if it were the other way around.

my very red eyelids made police suspicious of me, and only my best and most long-term friends knew me and respected me just as much as they did when i was 17, and had no rosacea whatsoever.

so of course i was willing to try anything.

however, i did experience hours of blurred vision, with no guarantee it would clear (thankfully it did) after using TTO anywhere near my eyes.

anyway, if TTO was an effective treatment without side effects, i actually used it long before the doctor in the article used it, only my carrier oil was coconut oil – slightly effective on its own, actually …

so, really, the doctor who has filed for a patent actually has disregarded the fact that others have used it already to treat ocular rosacea.

and yet, i do understand the commercial world, and how large companies need to see a patent before investing money in research.

Brolene Gel (not the ineffective brolene drops) completely cleared my eyelids of ocular rosacea, however during that time, i developed a small yellow area on the right eye, with a red small vein connecting it to the corner of the eye. I believe the Brolene Gel caused this, because i used it for longer than was recommended. Perhaps this is why Brolene Gel is now no longer available (effective from about 5 months ago). the manufacturer, 3M has given no explanation.
im not worried, as the yellow spot on the white of the eye itself is fading, the red lids are honey tan colour still, and also, the eyelashes no longer fall out from stye-affected areas.

By: Digital Davo

Digital Davo — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:09:46 +0000

I don’t think you can say that because someone has filed a patent they it is only for money and not humankind. That seems a bit harsh. Patents are about protecting intellectual property. Very very very few patents get used to collect license fees. Without protection for intellectual property businesses would never invest in research or development of potential treatments.

davidp.

By: jasper

jasper — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:04:23 +0000

if Dr Tseng has filed a patent … then it is obvious that part of his research is for money, and not for humankind. also, if it is for profit, then scientists paid to study the substance with him, will look for the good results, and not properly study the VERY obvious deliterious side effects.

i just hope they have a good team of lawyers for when the insurance claims start rolling in.