Zocular

This past weekend, I was able to attend a great event for dry eye practitioners in Central California. Some of the industry's greatest thought leaders were there including Scott Schachter, OD, Peter Pham, MD, Tim Trinh, OD, and Lisa Wahl, OD.

It was really great to reconnect with some of my colleagues and people who have influenced my career greatly.  I was re-introduced to a product that I have been using in my office for about a year now. It is called Zocular.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that I often recommend using a lid and lash cleanser.  Lid and lash cleanser is an important step in my 4 step process to alleviate your dry eye symptoms. Please check out my book, Alleviate Dry Eye, to learn more about this process.

Zocular is a gentle but powerful lid and lash cleanser that does an excellent job of both eliminating bacteria and Demodex mites from the lid margins and lashes.  The power of this product is that it works as a natural anti-inflammatory.  One of the key ingredients in Zocular is okra which has a high polysaccharide content. The polysaccharides are what bring down the inflammation.

Zocular is particularly good to use in 3 types of patients: a) patients suffering from an overgrowth of Demodex, b) patients who also have rosacea, c) patients who have sensitive eyes. Let's go over why we would use Zocular in each of these patient populations.

DEMODEX

Demodex is a mite that lives on the lashes in all adults.  This mite is as common as a dust mite and thought to be found on 100% of Caucasians after the age of 60.  The mite is normal to have on your lids and lashes, but problems can occur if the mite population increases. 

Symptoms of an overgrowth of mites include red and thickened eyelid margins, itching at the base of the eyelashes, stinging, burning, or fluctuating vision.   

Although this mite is normally found on adult lids and lashes, if the population has become overgrown, it must be eradicated.  Treatment would begin with an in-office procedure called ZEST by Zocular.  You can watch a video of the procedure here. 

After the in-office procedure is completed, you will need to follow up with in-home care.  Zocular is available in both wipes or foam. These need to be applied to the eyes in a circular motion over the lids and lashes twice a day.  The wipes do not need to be rinsed off, but the foam must be rinsed after it has been in contact with your skin for 30 - 45 seconds.  

You should also have follow-up visits with your eye care practitioner to guide you through your progress.  After several weeks of at-home care, you may notices that the redness around the rims of your eyelids has significantly decreased and your eyes feel less dry.  You may even want to stop at-home treatment altogether because your eyes are feeling so great.  If you slack off completely, the mites could come back again.  keep your follow up appointments.  It is important to have the lids looked at under a microscope.

OCULAR ROSACEA

People who suffer from ocular rosacea have facial rosacea in 80% of the cases.  Facial rosacea is characterized by red cheeks and noses.  The redness worsens when eating spicy foods or drinking alcohol. 

Before these little red broken blood vessels show up on our cheeks and across our nose, they are present in our eyelids first. The blood vessels in the eyelids are much smaller than those on the cheeks and nose.  But, all of these blood vessels are bringing an irregular amount of inflammation to the front surface of the eye. 

Treating someone who has ocular rosacea can be difficult. Usually, the presence of blood vessels on the lid margins are a sign that the inflammation has been long-standing.  The key factor in treating ocular rosacea is to bring down inflammation.

Studies have shown that ocular rosacea is related to an overgrowth of Demodex mites. This makes zocular the perfect treatment for patients with Ocular Rosacea.  The product is gentle and soothes the red and inflamed skin.  It also kills the Demodex mites that are usually present.

Zocular Facial Cleanser

Patients with rosacea would benefit from an in-office treatment if large populations of Demodex are present.  But, more importantly, these patients should also use the Zocular facial cleanser to eliminate the inflammation on their faces twice a day.

SENSITIVE EYES

People who have sensitive eyes notice symptoms of redness and tearing beyond other symptoms.  They may also have sensitive skin and need to be careful when choosing soaps and detergents to wash their clothing.

The best way to rid your eyes from their sensitivity is to eliminate all of the things that are irritating them.  Please download the list of 26 ingredients to avoid in your personal care products here. 

Zocular Gel

Then, start using Zocular gel twice a day to keep the skin around the eyes clean and soothed.  This solution does not need to be rinsed off after use.

CONCLUSION

We all want to look our best in life.  Red, watery, sensitive eyes can hold us back from the things we love in life.  When our eyes are red and irritated, we are more self-conscious about our appearance.  After all, our eyes are the windows to our souls.  Who wants to have an irritated soul?

Keeping the inflammation down that causes the redness is paramount in looking good again.  Zocular is a great product to help you get your red eyes looking white again.  It is available as an in-office treatment as well as at-home therapy in the form of wipes, foam or gel.  Additionally, there are wipes for use over the entire face if you fear you also suffer from facial rosacea.

Leave me a comment below and let me know what bothers you most about your sensitive eyes.