ocular rosacea after eyelid surgery

[Sooki]

I finally had my eyelid surgery (uppers, bags, lower lid tuck, and eyebrow stabilization) done on Jan 11.  The healing is probably going as predicted, especially considering everything I had done at once.  It's been almost 5 weeks now.  The wounds are all healed and the stitches almost all dissolved.

As instructed, I used ice packs for 3 days, followed by "warm compresses 4x a day for 15 mins until the swelling is gone".  After 4-5 days on the warm compresses, my eyes started getting worse.  Eventually, my eyeballs got bright red and the lids swelled and were also red.  Obedient me kept on with the compresses for 2 weeks before remembering that heat is one of my triggers for ocular rosacea. And sometimes at night, my eyelids seem stuck to my eyeballs.

(Other triggers - warm air , spicy food, chocolate, grains, alcohol, hot drinks, caffeine, wearing a sweater 1 minute too long, computer and TV screens, stress......)

I've stopped the warmth and have started using cool and cold compresses instead.  My eye doctor prescribed prednisolone drops for a 2 week taper. They don't seem to be making any difference.  And I've started back on Xiidra, which helped with eye moisture before.  But really, the only time my eyes are okay is when they're covered in OTC nighttime ointment.  I massage the scars with it several times a days (instead of the vit E recommended by the surgeon) and put it into my eyes at least 2-3 times a day and sometimes when I get up in the night.  If I become sensitive to it, all is lost.

I'm thinking my next step might be doxycycline, which the eye doc suggested next?  What does eye infection feel/look like?  I'm thinking I may try to get an emergency visit with my eye doc next week just so she can look at it.  Suggestions???

[bluegardenia]

i had wonderful results fom using  pads with  hot water where i put one drop of tea tree.  my eyes seemed a frog eyes and in a couple of days they were much better. i still do that when they become very bloated

[Sooki]

BG - might that work with cool water?

[irish]

My suggestion is to do that visit with your eye doc. You can't mess with the eyes and you could have a low grade simmering infection going on along with your rosacea. After all you all you have been through you need to find out for sure what is going on and make sure vision is safe so you can forge ahead. Good luck. Irish

[cccourt1942]

Oh gosh...didn't realize you were SjS + when I started reading.  Did you ask your ophthal before surgery?  I only ask that as, I believe a visit to your ophthal is your best course of action at this time.
  Good luck.
c3

[Sooki]

Thanks, everyone.  Yes, everyone was encouraging and on board with the procedure before I started.  I will check with her.