Q: My eyelids are itchy and often flake. What’s causing this? And what can I do about it?
A: You’d be surprised by the number of women who come to me with this type of rash, known as eyelid dermatitis. Just as unexpected is its number one cause: wet nail polish, or, more precisely, a chemical in it called formaldehyde. Once polish dries, the chemical can’t cause a reaction. But if tacky nails touch your lids, this sort of rash can result. Fragrance in skin-care products may also be to blame. And shimmery eye shadows can irritate lids too. Other common culprits are eczema of the eyelids and seborrheic dermatitis, a condition similar to dandruff, which makes the skin on the lids flake.
The best treatment, no matter the cause, is an over-the-counter, 1% hydrocortisone cream used twice a day for up to five days. Taking an antihistamine—Claritin during the day or Benadryl at night—can also help. And, of course, avoid potentially irritating products. If the rash worsens or doesn’t improve over time, see your dermatologist.
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Comments (41)
Read your or Dr. comments in new mag. My seb. derma is hair and eyelids. I believe at times I am going to go crazy itching. I have been to dr. skin spec. and lots of expensive medicine to no avail. I may go to another dr., but want to try Claritin etc. I so enjoy your magazine. Please offer any suggestions for hair…PLEASE. I have even bought dog itch shampoo. Now is that desperate or what!! I am sure you don’t answer personally- can anyone help me.
Hydrocortisone cream should never be used in the eye area by persons with glaucoma.
When i have suffered from this, the best and only thing that helps is to take a drop of baby shampoo on your finger, wet it and ’shampoo’ your eyelids. Rinse with cool clear water. Keep them clean and makeup free until all is clear.
I suffered from this all my life, i’ve tried everything. For starters Hydrocortisone cream thins the skin and the eye area is already delicate, don’t do it!! Soaps and shampoo’s only perpetuate the problems as the harsh chemicals (even if it is baby shampoo) dries out the skin. Only two things have EVER worked for me (trust me I tried EVERYTHING!). The first is almond oil. The routine: striaght after your shower when your face is still wet take a drop of almond oil (i put mine in an old hair dye bottle to stop it going everywhere) and gently rub it over your eyelids and lashes, you can spread the rest over your face while it’s still wet. You may have to wait 10 mins or so before you put make-up on and you can blot any excess off after this time but you won’t have the problem again, trust me. Secondly, try Exomega Aderma cream – this stuff is aimed at people who have atopic skin. Lastly, to the girl with the seb derm on your scalp – coconut oil. Once a week massage this into you scalp leave over night/few hours and shampoo out also dump any shampoo that contains Sodium laureth sulphate – big no no for girls like you and me with seb derm. I hope i’ve helped!x
For Anita regarding the Exomega Aderma cream where can I find it?!
Some mascara can cause this problem too. It could also be an irritation thing- because waterproof mascara can really stay on your eyelids if you get any on them.. and that could cause that same reaction as the nail polish.
I am so glad to hear that other people have this problem! I am tired of Docs. blaming it on my make-up. I even bought new make-up nad it happened again. This happens to me at least two to three times a year. It is almost unbearable! Ao I know exactly how you all feel. Hopefully some of your ideas will work for me and others. I have tried some of the creams. They really do not help all that well. So I think I am going to try the almond oil tomorrow. I would use just about anything to get rid of this. I am 43 and when I get this I also age years older! Take care eveyone, and good luck. I am going to a derma. Doc. on Friday. I will see if she comes up with anything. I’ll let you all know. Terri
My mother and I have battled this for years, usually late spring to early summer. We both have taken antihistamines and used creams, but it takes months before it is totally gone. The one year I was in Europe and took only the bare essentials as far as facial products to keep my luggage light. One day into the trip, my eyelid became so itchy and flaky that I spent the rest of the trip trying to find a cream with identifiable ingredients to at least stop the itching. My last inflammation, which I am still battling, I broke down and scratched it quite a bit one evening. The next day my eye was unbearably puffy and swollen. I had to hold ice on it for several hours before I headed out, and it was still noticeably inflamed. Has anyone else experienced this swelling? If so, what worked best for you? I am leery of using the hydrocortisone cream near my eyes.
My eyelids are puffy and red raw as if they are sunburnt. Really itchy and i ahve tried witchhazel something i swear by. I think its because we have had a big fly war in our house and reluctant as i am to use insecticides cos i am so allergic to them and dont agree with chemicals that are so poisonous, i bought some vapona. I think its left aresidue on my hands. My problem is that its not easing and so uncomfortable. I would not use steroid cream but need something to cool this down its like sunburn. There are so many things we come into contact in our day to day existence i am worried its not going to go away.
I have been battling this for three months. I had a food allergy test done and it came back that I am allergic to cabbage. I also have patches on my back that they are testing me for. I’ll let you know what they have come up with. I’m tired of looking so bad!
Hello , seems this site is mostly for women. Iam a man currently suffering from irritated eyes. I dont know whats wrong with me! ive been having this issue off and on for some time now but its now more frequent and worse! For the last 2+ months my eyes have been mildly swollen and very itchy! It feels so good just just itch them but it makes it worse. i have tried creams that was prescibed to me and i take claritin from time to time.Doesnt seem to be going away this time and iam really miserable! i do alot of reading and see that just about anything from allergies to heart issues can cause these symptoms. Iam 37 years old,6′2 (289 lbs)i feel to young to go through this for it has driving me to the brink of craziness. I dont have medical insurance and i dont know what to do. Ill use cold compresses which seem to help but then after, i half to use liquid tear drops. But then they itch for a short time. Any type of heat makes them feel worse! Any recommendations?
try an eye allergy over the counter drug (for itchy eyes) and rub a few drops topically over the eye lid. it will calm he itch in a matter of minutes. it works always.
hI, i also have suffered from this for about a year and go back and forth from believing my makeup causes it to some weird yeast (I hate to say this folks, but the itch is a feel-good itch like the itch of a vaginal yeast infection. Gross, I know, but what else can it be?)
I am like the guy who said it feels so good to itch, but then I have gone overboard and have ruined my eyelids for the next few days. Sore, red, and raw.
I just did that and am looking once again for an answer on the net. So tired of not knowing what this is.
forgot to say that I have tried pure jojoba oil (moisturizes without burning, but doesn’t help the itch at all), topical yeast cream (seems to take away itch temporarily), Neosporin, oatmeal and water, coconut oil, etc.
The only thing I haven’t tried is dropping all eye makeup. I stupidly use Arbonne. What a joke, the rest of their stuff did nothing but broke me out and gave me rashes, and I still use their product?
Actually today I stopped using their stuff. we’ll se if it helps.
I have read so many of your comments here, and all I can say is that I identify with all of you! For me, I believe the problem was SOYBEAN OIL. In my desperation I went to an allergist and had the scratch testing done for food allergies – all negative. BUT, my mom and I have had the same problem for months. I have been keeping a diary of foods eaten. I was basically down to vegetables and meat. I cleared up over time. Then got a little lazy and started eating some junk again. As soon as I started to have a flare up, I took a look at what I had eaten over the past few days. The common denominator: soybean oil, soy lecithin, soy flour. You can check it out: it’s in a ton of food, almost every loaf of bread you can buy at the store has it. Then I went through my skin care items, hair care items, and VOILA. Some items had soybean oil in them as well – including ARBONNE. Watch your moisturizers, ladies! Try eliminating any soybean products (darn, I LOVE edamame beans) and see what happens for you. So far so GREAT!!
I just developed this problem and don’t dare scratch my eyelids – it feels sooo good but then it is a disaster. I stopped wearing eye makeup but hate that and may try Clinique, as it claims to be hypoallergic. My eye Dr said to try Zaditor (I just called him, and did not go in to be seen). I haven’t gotten it yet but am going to try. It is an OTC allergy eye drop.
See this for general information:
http://www.visionrx.com/library/enc/enc_ieyes.asp
This was recommended on one site:
Eyelid scrub
Wash your hands.
Soak a clean washcloth in warm water.
Close one eye and gently rub the eyelash base with the warm washcloth, being careful to rub the entire area. Do this for one minute.
Carefully rinse the entire eyelid with clean, cool water.
Repeat with the other eye
Have the same problem, my eye doctor gave me eyelid scrubs, and they made my eyelids even worse – would not recommend! The only thing that seems to work is baby shampoo, and a mild moisturizer like Aveeno.
I seem to have developed this condition since I had my eye lashes dyed a couple of years ago..I have even had a couple of cysts removed. I can’t bear the thought of not wearing eye make-up ever again..
I have been bathing them with a warm flannel but my eye lids are particularly itchy at the moment..
I would be grateful to hear some more advice anyone..
I read another girls story about finding a product called Cardiospermum, offered by Skin Shop. Has anyone else tried this product and what was your results?
I bought this product from the health food store. Inititally, it felt good. But later just burned. I’ve mentioned this in another post, but read your labels of food and skin care, and eliminate anything with soybean oil or soy lecithin or soy flour. I narrowed it down to this and haven’t had any problems since. Good luck!
I had tried everything for my itchy dry eyelids, I was feeling like the lioness!
I found this site and tried the baby oil rub and it really works. After the first time, and now my lids are smooth. I am going to continue to do this for now as I do not want to get it back any time soon!
**Sorry, I meant the baby shampoo not oil.
If you suspect it’s allergy, why swallow a pill that puts you in a fog? Try using a topical cream put directly on the problem, the eyelids. A good one to try is called Ivarest. It stops the itch, soothes the irritation and protects the skin from sun exposure. It works pretty good for me. No fog.
I like Noxzema even better but it doesn’t have sun protection. For dry eyelids, Noxzema is great.
I’ve been dealing with this eyelid problem for the last year. Believe me, I’ve tried every over the counter cream I could find. I went to one dermatologist who gave me Elidel 1% cream 30GM. It was very strong and did not help, it’s also expensive if you don’t have Rx insurance. Last week I went to a different dermatologist and she gave me a sample tube of Locoid Lipocream 0.1% to use twice a day and I’m not suppose to wear any kind of eye makeup for 7 days.. Within 24 hrs there was a difference in my eyelids! I am so happy! It’s been 6 days now and I’m still using the cream and my lids are great! I hope this helps all of you who too are battling this.
My husband suffers from eye lid itch almost all the time. The Dr say he is not allergic to anything. What can he use to eliminate the itch. Thank you for any help
I have been dealing with red, swollen, itchy, flaky, eyelids for a couple months now. Went to dermatol., who of course prescribed hydrocortisone ointment. Got some relief, but not much. Then changed all make-up and brushes. Cleared up for a couple days, then came back raging. It was depressing. Then I prayed, and asked God to show me what it is..you know, it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack! A day or two later, I was telling a friend about my eye problem (it was obvious, at least to me). She said, “honey, you are eating something you shouldn’t be…are you eating strawberries?” YES…I make fresh smoothies, eat them fresh, on and on. They’re in season in January (Florida strawberries), then later from California. I have since cut out strawberries, and am ecstatic to report that it is disappearing! Never had a problem with strawberries before! Incidentally, my mother had the same eye problem, only 10 times worse. She cut out all berries just to be sure, and she is clearing up as well. Whatever you do…don’t keep using cortisone ointments. You will permanently damage that tender skin around your eyes! Good luck and God Bless!
Hi, I’ve had this problem every couple of yrs. For one, never us a steroid cream as this thins the eyelid and the body can develop an allergic reaction to it over time that makes things worse. When I stopped it cold turkey after years of use, I broke out in a full body rash for a week. For me, Cetaphil wash and lotion are the best. When I have breakouts I can usually trace it to a stressful series of events or being overly busy and lacking sleep for a time. Sleep, gentle exercise, drinking water, not using eye makeup, etc help me to heal, although this is not foolproof. I am dealing with a breakout now and ready to rip my eyelids off!
It is so refreshing to hear about other people experiencing this on-going problem? I have dry eyes and use drops and Restasis all day long and assume that is what keeps doing this. But I can go awhile before the problem comes back sometimes and still use all the eyedrops so it can’t always be this. Dermatologist recomended the Elidel, but it does not help enough and I can see my eyelids even getting thinner so I will not use it. I am going to some of the recommendations I have read on this to see if something else can help. And yes, like many of you, I came to look up solutions because I want to just take my eyes off for a while – it is so uncomfortable and itchy!
I have the problem with itching, and I believe because I use eye cream regularly. I do wash my eyes with baby shampoo. Interesting enough, when I visited my daughter in LA- my eyes did not itch even once, I was suprised, comparing to my NY eye condition , probably caused by harsh chemicals in water.
It is so good to hear that I am not the only one suffering from this awful and irritating condition! Use eye drops for dry eyes and always thought this was the issue, but it isn’t because the rash can go away for a little while and the eye drops are still used. Stopped the Elidel cream, doesn’t really help and hate that the eyelid becomes even thinner! Going to try a couple of solutions from others to see if they work –right now I am wanting to take my eyes off for a while just to feel better!
I tried the generic version of Zaditor for itchy allergy eyes, not in my eyes but on the skin on my upper lids where the rash is. It did stop the itching, but then my skin went right back to burning, flaky and itching skin again. The baby shampoo also made my skin more dry and then flaky. My rash is always on the same parts of both eyelids, from just above the inner corner of my eyes up toward the bottom of my eyebrows. Does anyone else have it here? I use MaryKay mineral eye shadow, (when I can even wear make up on my eyes!) but use it on the entire lids and don’t have the rash there at all, so that can’t be it. I am going to try the almond oil next. Any other suggestions or similar problems?
I have had itchy eyelids on and off and found after going to derma etc. and tried their steroids which worked for a time that this usually is from anxiety.
Overwork, undersleeping, dry eyes, and continual scratching. Drs thought I was making much of nothing but from anxiety I get hot, my eyelids almost burn turn itchy and flake. Right not I have a hive on one. I am an anxious person and I have noted due to what I perceive as stressful situations for a period of time, which I am battling lack of sleep now, the flaking comes from the overheating of the skin like a flush when you are upset. It starts gradually you don’t notice until the scratching is very annoying. I hope this helps, when I calm down and sleep and get happy it always goes away. I have tried everything including eye stents, creams oils etc. Meditatin and relaxation over a couple of weeks works wonders – if you do it.
Hope this helps somebody. P
After using Nivea Visage eye gel for years, I found it was no longer available and tried an Oil of Olay eye gel, which horribly burned my eyelids.I was not able to wear eye makeup, nor any eye gel/eye cream for over 4 years. My eyelids are still itchy and dried out, and while I have managed recently to start using eye makeup, I cannot find anything in the world to remove it that does not make my eyelids itch and flake like crazy.Baby shampoo was a constant for me for 20 years, but this irritates me now as well. I have brought home product number 1000 today- something called California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo and Body Wash (fragrance free). The least irritating moisturizer really is plain old Vaseline. That is what the dermatologist told me to use, and to wear mittens if I had to, to keep from rubbing my eyes while sleeping. The constant rubbing/chafing simply kills the immune system of the sensitive skin of the eyelids.The skin must get a chance to heal, so we must keep from rubbing them. This is easier said than done, I know. Burt’s Bees eye cream with royal jelly is good for a light dab around the eye before concealer and eye makeup. I do not itch at all now, until after I wash them off at night.I have spoken to many doctors and pharmacists about this “injury”, and most say there are about 20 different things in many of the eye gels we buy that can really burn the eyelids, and cause long term damage to that skin. Hopefully California Baby will be the gentle remover I have been searching for, and I am looking forward to trying Almond Oil as an alternative to Vaseline. Thank you so much for that tip. :^)
I have had this problem with my eyelids being so dry and itchy for more than 6 months now. I’ve tried Carmex which works wonders for dry lips so I figured it would do the same for my eyelids and it does soothe them for a good ten minutes but then its just grease on my eyes. I cant even wear eye makeup for more than 20 minutes. I just end up scratching it off. I’m so tired of this problem. I want it to go away!
Hey what kind of almond oil should i get and where do i find it?
I found almond oil at an ordinary health food store.
It did not work as well for me as I had hoped, but that may not be the case for you. I have been using a vitamin e with aloe stick, and that has been great (health food store.) I am also off eye makeup again while I allow this to work. Turns out California Baby was not the greatest on eyes, and my eyelids were dried out and itching like mad after washing with it, regardless of what I had moisturized them with after their bath. This has been so tough to clear up, even from a doctor’s perspective. On the bright side- the vitamin e stick has made the area around my eyes look just great, and I’m in my mid 40’s, so that was a wonderful surprise! I feared that the years of rubbing my itchy eyes would break down their elasticity, and I would be left with permanent bags…. and I was certainly on the way to that, so for now- no eye makeup and vitamin e stick for me only. Katie, I smiled at your comment about the Carmex. I too, have done things like that many times. I had this on my lip corners for a while when the eye allergy first started. The chapstick did nothing for it, and even caused them to split at the corners, but Burt’s Bees w/ pomegranite for lips cleared it right up, permanently. Naturally, I felt that it would clear up my eyelids, too…. but it did not. It only made a red ring around my eyes like a horror movie character. :^)
Its a relief to hear of similar problems to my own. It is strange however that I very very rarely use eye makeup and dont even use rose water on my face to wash. I use rosemary water with cider vinegar to wash my hair and still I have developed this impossible eye irritation. I have just eliminated dairy eggs and wheat from my diet and that has had no effect so far. I have been using shea butter which is supposed to be excellent for eczema but just makes me want to itch them more. I really dont know what to do. Might try some aloe vera that was mentioned on another site. Good luck everyone!!! PS I dont think using over the counter creams will help in the long term.
I tried pure Aloe Vera, but it made my lids dry up, and nearly crack. I am having good luck with the vitamin e / aloe stick that is available at the health food store, and I have stopped washing my eyes with anything except warm water and a wash cloth. This seems to make my temperamental lids very happy.
I also suffered from itchy swollen lids for a while. It seemed to come out of the blue! One day my eye was itchy and i scratched it, then it got raw and swollen. Then because it was swollen and the skin is so thin and sensitive, the skin cracked and got all oozy and hurt like hell. Once it healed, the dead skin was flaky and itchy. So i scratched. Then the whole process happened all over again. I was pretty sure that if i could stop itching/scratching it, that my eye would heal on it’s own. And it did. Here’s how i treated it and stopped ITCHING. (the worst!)
Because i wasn’t sure if it was an allergy (it seemed like it) or a fungus, this is what i did:
1) i took 24 Claritin every day for two weeks
2) I washed my eyes every morning, afternoon and night with Johnson baby shampoo & scrubbed w/ a Qtip.
3) Bought a warm air humidifier and put it next to my bed. (vicks sells one at cvs for $20. it’s great)
4) I did NOT put anything on my lids, not even moisturizer – except:
5) Oregano oil. This stuff is a life saver and gets rid of the itch immediately. I put a capful of extra virgin olive oil in a shotglass and mixed in a few drops of Oregano oil. Then i applied it to my lids w/ a Qtip every night until the problem was gone. (use a qtip or else you could get too much on your lid which will drip into your eye)
Oregano oil is very strong (smelling and acting) so it needs to be mixed with EVOO to make it less potent. If you apply it full strength it will BURN like crazy. It is going to burn for about 10 mintues regardles, because it works by releasing oxygen which reacts to the water in your body – which creates heat. It’s not painful – but it feels like you put BenGay on your eyelid. But i swear, only for a few minutes and then your eyelids won’t itch at all if you can tough it out. Doing this every night will keep my eyelids from itching for the entire next day. (although i carried oil w/ me as a precaution incase i got the itchies)
it was also great because oregano oil is an anti-fungal, so if it was fungus related instead of just allergies, this would’ve helped to heal it as well.
It’s also super moisturizing, so it helped to keep the dry skin at bay.
It took about 2 1/2 weeks of never touching my eye for it to get better. What i think ended up being my problem was the handsoap in my bathroom! i threw out my makeup but kept washing my hands before touching my eyes to take out my contacts every day. and BLAMO – allergy city. It also could’ve been painting my nails & touching my face, but the seems less likely.
Good luck!!