What are my ocular rosacea treatment options?

Ocular rosacea treatment options include a combination of local and systemic therapy. These therapies are usually supplemented with cleansing and tearing agents.

If the rosacea patient is suffering from a mild case, they are usually instructed to apply warm compresses on the eyelids several times daily. Regular gentle cleansing of the eyelids with a cotton swab and baby shampoo is recommended.

For more moderate ocular rosacea cases, a topical medication is generally prescribed along with lubricating eye drops.

A more radical treatment approach is taken with the more severe cases. Ocular rosacea patients are usually placed on oral antibiotics, like doxycycline. This is prescribed at a full dosage level for two weeks, followed by a maintenance dose for several months after that.

Other Ocular Rosacea Treatment Options

As is common with facial rosacea, ocular rosacea sufferers also are encouraged to identify and avoid any lifestyle or environmental factors that may trigger or aggravate their specific condition. A list of common trigger factors identified by the National Rosacea Society include: hot or cold weather, alcohol, wind, spicy food, heated beverages, emotional stress and many others.

A recent development in ocular rosacea detection may help identify the disorder earlier in the development cycle. A study funded by the National Rosacea Society has found that tears of rosacea patients contain different proteins than the tears of individuals without rosacea.

These results should promote the development of a new screening test for ocular rosacea in the next few years. This new research should help diagnose the disorder earlier and allow for an ocular rosacea treatment regimen to commence sooner, mitigating the more severe effects of this disorder.