Blepharitis Diagnosis

How Is Blepharitis Diagnosed?

Blepharitis is a common condition that causes inflammation and irritation of the eyelids. Blepharitis often produces flaky debris at the bases of the eyelashes, causing the eyelids to become inflamed and itchy. Usually diagnosis of blepharitis can be made by analyzing a patient's symptoms and complaints, administering a thorough eye examination. Occasionally, additional diagnostic tests are performed.

• Symptoms and Complaints of Blepharitis: When diagnosing blepharitis, your eye doctor will ask you to describe the symptoms you are experiencing. If you have blepharitis, you may complain that your eyes are irritated, itchy, or burning at the edges of your eyelids. You may feel a foreign body sensation, as if something is stuck inside of your eyes. You might be noticing crusty scales or granulations stuck to both your upper and lower eyelids, especially first thing in the morning. You may feel as if your eyelids are "glued" shut upon waking. Your eye doctor will look for any other health problems that may be contributing to a patient's eye problem. People with blepharitis sometimes have rosacea, a skin condition characterized by redness of the cheeks.



• Eye Examination for Blepharitis: A primary care provider can usually make the diagnosis with the history and a careful physical examination. Your eye doctor will also have the benefit of a more careful eye exam. He or she will probably use a slit lamp during an examination to diagnose blepharitis. A slit lamp is a microscope with a light attached that allows an eye doctor to examine your eyelids and eyelashes under high magnification. Your eyelid margins, bases of your eyelashes, oil gland openings, tears, and front surfaces of your eyeballs will be thoroughly examined. If you have blepharitis, debris and dandruff-like scales may be visible and the eyelid margins may be red and swollen. The added advantage of the slit lamp is that it can help the eye doctor distinguish between different causes of blepharitis.
  
  
• Diagnostic Tests for Blepharitis: A comprehensive eye examination is usually enough to reveal a case of blepharitis, without the use of other diagnostic tests. However, your eye doctor may take a culture of your eye secretions in order to rule out an eye infection. Your doctor may simply swab the discharge of your eye and send it to a laboratory for further investigation. Furthermore, if you fail to respond to necessary blepharitis treatment, more diagnostic tests may be performed in order to rule out allergies.

_Source:

_{American Optometric Association. "Care of the Patient with Ocular Surface Disorders." Optometric Clinical Practice Guideline, AOA, 1995-2002.}