What is the difference between anterior and posterior blepharitis?

Anterior blepharitis refers to inflammation mainly centered around the skin, eyelashes, and lash follicles, while the posterior variant involves the meibomian gland orifices, meibomian glands, tarsal plate, and blepharo-conjunctival junction.

Is blepharitis the same as Meibomian gland dysfunction?

Blepharitis/MGD refers to low-grade inflammation of the eyelids and obstruction of the oil glands of the eyelid (Meibomian Gland Dysfunction), often in association with dandruff-like scaling of the skin at the base of the eyelashes.

What is anterior blepharitis?

Anterior blepharitis. Anterior blepharitis affects the outside of your eye, where your eyelashes attach to your eyelid. It usually happens because of bacteria on your skin or dandruff from your scalp or eyebrows. Allergies or mites (tiny parasites) may also cause anterior blepharitis, but this is rare.

Does anterior blepharitis cause dry eye?

Blepharitis can lead to complications such as dry eyes, loss of eyelashes, and excess tears. Lifestyle changes can prevent the condition.

What causes posterior blepharitis?

Posterior blepharitis is caused by the irregular production of oil in the eyelids (meibomian blepharitis). The dry, exposed inner surface of the meibomian glands’ canals makes for a decent bacterial breeding ground. It may be a result of skin conditions like rosacea or dandruff of the scalp.

Can you get blepharitis in just one eye?

Blepharitis usually affects both eyes. In some cases it can only affect one eye, but this is uncommon. Once blepharitis occurs, it’s possible to also get a secondary infection.

Is anterior or posterior blepharitis more common?

It may be a result of skin conditions like rosacea or dandruff of the scalp. In fact, posterior blepharitis also goes by the name meibomian gland dysfunction, and it’s more common than the other types of blepharitis.

How is posterior blepharitis treated?

A combination of topical antibiotic and corticosteroid therapy may be a viable option for acute presentations of blepharitis, and both oral doxycycline and azithromycin therapy have shown efficacy for posterior lid margin involvement and meibomitis.

Does blepharitis cause MGD?

MGD is the most common cause of dry eye syndrome (also called dry eye disease). MGD may lead to eyelid inflammation, called blepharitis, especially along the rims. There’s a lot of overlap among these three conditions, and it’s possible to have them all at once.

Can posterior blepharitis be cured?

There’s no definitive cure, but you can reduce day-to-day symptoms as well as flares if you’re willing to commit to a regular program of eyelid cleansing and care.

Is ulcerative blepharitis anterior or posterior?

Staphylococcal blepharitis and seborrheic blepharitis belong to the anterior variety, while ulcerative blepharitis and meibomian blepharitis belong to posterior blepharitis.