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Blepharitis - Management
When should I refer a person with blepharitis?
- Refer for same-day ophthalmological assessment if:
- The person experiences sudden onset of visual loss, or
- An eye becomes acutely painful and red.
- Refer with urgency appropriate to the problem if:
- Cancer is suspected (squamous cell, basal cell, or sebaceous cell carcinoma of the eyelid margin):
- Persistent localized disease or resistance to treatment.
- Marked eyelid asymmetry.
- There are symptoms of corneal disease (pain, blurred vision).
- Vision deteriorates.
- The diagnosis is uncertain.
- There is associated disease, such as Sjögren's syndrome or eyelid deformities.
- There is insufficient improvement despite maximal treatment available in primary care.
Clarification / Additional information
- Referral is usually made to an eye specialist (e.g. ophthalmologist) for eye problems and to a dermatologist for an associated skin condition.
- In secondary care, people who have had an inadequate response to primary care management may be offered a topical ocular corticosteroid.
Basis for recommendation
- These CKS recommendations are, in the absence of clinical evidence, based on what is accepted in the UK as good clinical practice.
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