Q: I am a 31 years old man having severe eye infection in my left eye for the last 7-8 months. It causes severe redness and irritation in my eyes. I have taken Tobastar and Zigat eye drops for the same. Everything was fine until I was under medication. Soon after I stopped it, the infection recurred. The doctor says that it is due to the eyelids problem and taking hot fomentation as per his suggestion. I don't wear spectacles. How it can it be treated permanently?

A:This lid infection is called blepharitis and is usually caused by:

• Eye stress or need for glasses which cause the eyes to get tired after which you rub your eyes & that causes lid infection cysts etc. and one infection leads to another.
• You may have seborrhoea i.e. excess of sebum, which causes dandruffs, which causes recurrent lid infections.

I would advise you to clean your eyelids margins with diluted baby shampoo with cotton buds (lid hygiene) and never rub your eyes even when they are itching.

Use antibiotic ointment like chloramphenicol last thing at night and then gently rub these over the lids margins daily for about 4-6 weeks only.

If the symptoms persist, continue with the lid hygiene practices.