Although menopausal symptoms are now more widely discussed by doctors, there are still so some common symptoms experienced by large numbers of women that many doctors are still not so familiar with.
Blepharitis, a type of eye eczema, that causes inflammation of the eye lids and the skin around the eyes, is one of the less commonly dicussed symptoms of menopause, yet for many women often its often one of the first and most difficult symptoms to deal with.
“The reduction in the hormone oestrogen is what can trigger blepharitis in peri menopausal women as oestrogen is a major factor for collagen production which keeps skin flexible and moisturised. The skin around the eyes is particularly susceptible to dryness from a drop in oestrogen as its very thin and so isn’t able to retain much moisture, says consultant dermatologist Dr Eva Melegh.
According to medical guildlines, normal prescription steroids are not generally recommended for use around the eye area and should only be considered as a last resort.
“Typical first point of call treatment for atopic skin flares is steroids, they bring fast and spectacular improvement, but for this very delicate area around the eyes steroids are not recommended, which leaves relatively few alternatives,” says Dr Melegh.
However, there are some effective alternatives to steroids and one of those is phytosterols (which are plant-derived steroid-like components) which are structurally similar to the basis of steroids.
“Unlike prescription steroids, phytosterols are natural and gentler and offer anti-inflammatory effects without the undesirable side-effects, which makes them suitable for use around the delicate eye area. The physosterol Cardiospermum halicacabum is particularly useful for blepharitis as it has been widely studied for its beneficial effect on atopic and reactive skin. It offers an effective anti-inflammatory action and yet is gentle enough to use around the eye area,” says to Dr Melegh.
Tracey, 57, a Sales Co-ordinator from Nottinghamshire, experienced her first flare up of blepharitis when she entered perimenopause.
‘My horrendous and sudden onset of blepharitis began literlly as I entered perimenopause, not that anyone mentioned at the time that this could have been a symptom. Almost overnight my eyes went tight, puffy and red. It started with a hot tingly feeling around my eyes," says Tracey.
For almost a decade, Tracey tried various products to calm her hot, red, swollen eyes down but nothing ‘over the counter’ worked. She also went for allergy tests to try and find out what was triggering her blepharitis but they all came back inconclusive. She was prescribed various mediated creams from a consultant at Queens Medical Centre Hospital in Nottingham.
"The steroid cream did help calm things down after a few days of use. However, I was instructed not to use it for too long as it can damage and thin the skin around the eyes which obviously really worried me and it also came back with a venegence as soon as I stopped the treatment," says Tracey.
"No one had any idea what kept triggering Tracey's blepharitis and a link to th eonset of menopause was never mentioned. However, she did discover that whenever she drank beer the same thing happened. "I realised that something in the beer was also triggering my blepharitis, so obviously I ceased drinking it," says Tracey.
"Aside from how uncomfortable my eyes were, I did begin to feel very self-conscious about how they looked. It was almost impossible to wear any make up on them to try and disguise the redness as they were so sore and cosmetics made it look even worse. I started to dread social events or planned outings as my eyes could just flare up at any moment without much warning so I turned down a lot of days and nights out.
"I was really worried about repeatedly using the steroid cream around my eyes as I had read about the side effects of them thinning and discolouring the skin, so I began researching alternatives. That’s when I found an article about menopausal blepharitis and I read an account from a woman who had experinced almost idential symptoms as me and had finally found a solution in Hydrosil Dry Eye Gel, which contained a vine extract that is a plant version of a steroid and was much safer to use around the eyes than steroid creams," says Tracey.
After reading her account Tracey decided to try the vine eye gel for herself.
"The relief from the eye gel was pretty much immediate, although it took a few days to really notice the improvements. Within a few weeks of using the vine eye gel my eyes were about 90% improved, which was honesty miraculous in my eyes. The fact that the eye gel contained natural plant equivalents of chemical steroids made me feel much safer using it around my eyes and I could use it daily for as long as I needed to.
My eyes still get a bit dry now, but the redness, puffiness and itching has improved enormously. I use the vine eye gel daily as it seems to control the main symptoms of blepharitis, which has honestly been a life-changing result," says Tracey.
