A mum who became a recluse after developing severe eye eczema as a result of menopause that made her look like an “awful red swollen toad” has found a “miraculous” cure after “months of suffering”.
Serena Fenton, 55, from Leeds, a mother of two and grandmother of five, said her skin has always been one of her “best assets” until January 2023, when her eyelids became severely swollen and red – she even had to “wear sunglasses to mask” them.
The property manager’s eyes became “extremely sore and very itchy” in a matter of weeks, and after trying a range of at-home remedies and prescription steroid cream, she saw no improvement – the latter even made her eyelids “slightly worse”.
Serena “started apologising in advance” when meeting up with people as she was “very self-conscious” of her eyes, and the itchiness continued to make her feel “drained” and have “low moods”, making her not want to go outside.
When researching her condition online, Serena stumbled across Hydrosil Dry Eye Gel, retailing at £9.50, which had rave reviews, so she decided to give it a go.
After one day, the itching stopped, and after a week, “the redness and swelling was practically gone” and “the relief was incredible”.
“After trying the gel, my awful red swollen toad eyes were back to normal after months of suffering, doctor visits and trying endless products that did nothing or made them even worse,” Serena said.
“The relief was incredible – for me, it was miraculous.”
In January 2023, Serena’s eyes suddenly became red and puffy, she explained: “Until the start of this year, I’d never had any issues with my skin, which has been one of my best assets.
“But in January this year, my eyelids started to swell and were very red – I felt and looked awful and had to wear sunglasses outside to mask it all, even though it was the middle of winter,” she said.
“My eyelids became extremely sore and very itchy in a matter of weeks – I didn’t know what was happening to me.
“They then started to swell and look really puffy.”
Serena could not help but feel self-conscious of her eyes, and it instantly knocked her confidence.
She said: “I had to attend a family funeral while all this was going on, and I was very self-conscious about my awful red, swollen eyes – everyone kept asking me if I was alright, it was embarrassing.
“After a while, I just started apologising in advance to everyone I met for my demon eyes but couldn’t explain the reason for the flare up as I had no idea.”
The eczema also impacted Serena physically, she explained: “It actually makes you feel quite drained because you have a bad night’s sleep from waking up at night with the itching and burning.
“I also had quite low moods, and I did not want to go outside.”
Serena tried putting Vaseline and aloe vera gel on her eyes, and nothing seemed to help the redness and swelling, so she decided to visit her GP at the end of January.
She was prescribed hydrocortisone cream – a steroid treatment – as her GP diagnosed her condition as eczema.
She said: “I used the hydrocortisone for the whole month before contacting my GP to explain it was having no effect and in fact was actually making it slightly worse.
“I decided I must start researching for myself to find something to help me.”
When searching online for alternative treatments, she came across comments claiming there is a link between eye eczema and menopause.
She said: “That was when it first occurred to me that this was probably what I had been going through too.”
Serena visited her GP again, and they confirmed that her eczema-ridden eyes could be a side effect of the menopause.
Serena said: “Nothing quite prepares you for just how strange things are going to be with the menopause.
“I’ve come from a generation where my mother and my grandmother would not discuss or mention menopause, so I did not really know what to expect.
“But when the doctor actually said my eyes could be because of the menopause, it made perfect sense.
“I can see that my body could somehow get super sensitive.”
In March 2023, after some more research, Serena came across Hydrosil Dry Eye Gel and decided to give it a go.
She said: “I was on the brink of looking into allergy testing when during some Google research, I came across some stories on a few women who appeared to have had a similar experience to me.
“They found this eye gel that had hugely helped their symptoms.”
To her amazement, the gel instantly soothed her eyelids and eradicated the redness within a few days.
She said: “Within a day, the itching had stopped, by the end of the week, the redness and swelling was practically gone.
“My confidence was restored too.”
Serena said to anyone suffering from eye eczema: “Definitely give the gel a go – it’s been miraculous for me.
“When it comes to women experiencing the menopause, it feels like everything is at a low point anyway, and having extra things like this can be the final straw – it can really be debilitating.
“I wish we knew more about the menopause – but hopefully the next generation will be better set up than my generation.”
