I suffer from blepharitis. Its an eye condition that makes the lids of my eye become sore and red unless I regularly wash them out with baby shampoo (yes, its as disgusting as it sounds).

There is no cure and no other treatment available. And because I’m lazy I can sometimes go weeks without treating my eyes in the right way. This can lead to incredibly sore and tired eyes – not good for someone who stares at a screen for up to 10 hours a day!

For anyone out there in the same boat as me I offer these simple tips:

1. WASH YOUR EYES! Do it at least every other day. Even when they don’t feel like they need it, they do, trust me.
2. WASH – YOUR – EYES! (see point 1).
3. Use eye drops sparingly. Remember its your eye lids NOT the eye itself which is at fault. Eye drops work in the sort-term but they are simply combating the fact that your dry and inflamed eye lids are scraping away at your eye balls.
4. Get some Optrex ActiMist™ Eye Spray its not cheap at £15 per bottle but its really helps as a ‘quick fix’ before you need to use your eyes for driving or going to the cinema for example.
5. Blink, often. You need to BLINK a LOT to keep your eyes moist. Most blepharitis sufferers don’t blink as often as they should. My eye doctor told me I needed to FORCE myself to blink once every few seconds, every now and again. It really does help.
6. Take eye breaks – I play video games, work on a screen and watch TV for hours every single day. My eyes hate me for it. Taking a break to read something or just to rest your eyes is the best advice I can give – the only problem is I don’t follow it.

Of course, every blepharitis sufferer should know at least some of these facts. But if you are new to the condition OR if you aren’t taking the right actions for your symptoms then this advice should help.

Seriously – If you feel sleepy, depressed, stressed or worn down chances are its just the blepharitis kicking in. There have been weeks when I’ve simply let slip my treatments and have felt like I’ve suffered from a constant hangover with no cure. After a few days of treatment I feel anew, like I can SEE and THINK clearly again. Imagine one of those great mornings when you’ve had the BEST nights sleep ever and the sun is shining though the window.

Cheesy I know, but true.

Note: I am not a clinician or medically trained in any way. I’ve had this condition for almost 5 years now and I still suffer badly. Do not think any of these tips will cure you, they may not even help in more drastic cases.

I’ve just posted a decent list of events over at England for Obama.

Check it out of you need something to do tomorrow night.

If you know of any or are hosting an inauguration event in the UK then please pop over to my England for Obama site and post a comment.

Every day I receive at least 5 emails from people asking if there will be any UK-based celebrations for the event so if your one of these people, you now have somewhere to look!

If anyone missed C4′s ‘The Inbetweeners’ here is a rather hilarious taste: