Genteal Lubricant Eye Gel (Severe)

In the spring, my ocular rosacea really acts up. My eyes get very itchy as tree and grass pollen increase. It's the worst season of the year. Winter is a close second with dust and dry air from the heating season.

When my eyes become itchy, I have a bad habit of rubbing my eyes to try to ease the itch. As a result, I end up pulling out eyelashes or causing sties. I have to be very careful to keep my eyes lubricated to avoid the itching.

What is Ocular Rosacea?

Ocular rosacea is rosacea of the eye. It's a form of rosacea where blockages of the oil glands in the eyelids prevent the right mix of oil and saline tears. As the eyes dry out because there's a lack of oil in the tear mixture, they become red and itchy or scratchy. I can only describe it as feeling like you have sand or an eyelash in your eye that never goes away.

How Do You Treat It?

See an eye doctor first and make sure the dryness hasn't damaged the cornea. It's uncommon but possible. Once that is determined, you need to use lubricating eye drops for ocular rosacea. When the condition is most severe in the winter and spring, I keep Genteal Lubricant Eye Gel (Severe) on hand.

I find that this lubricating eye gel offers the longest amount of relief. It does blur your vision at first. It clears up after a few minutes. I use it at night before going to sleep. That way, I don't care about the blurry vision.

My eye doctor also recommends flaxseed oil supplements and fish oil supplements. I take those daily. Warm compresses on the eyes twice a day is something I've gotten bad at fitting into the day, but I'm supposed to do that. The final step is to keep the eyelids clean using an eyelid wipe or eyelid wash. I tend to use warm water for that and skip a special ocular rosacea eyelid wash.

Give These Products a Try

One thing I've found with rosacea is that what works for me is a major failure for others. I've had people tell me certain products are great, and they've been horrible when I've tried them.

Get used to a lot of trial and error. When you do find products that work, realize they may stop working a season or year later. Or, the company discontinues them leaving you to find something else. Rosacea and ocular rosacea seem to involve an awful lot of trial and error to find the things that work best. Good luck.