Technology is evolving constantly.  And, medicine is evolving at a faster rate than ever before.  Because of this, there are products and practices that we eye doctors used to recommend to our patients, that we now know are not beneficial. 

 

Today, I will reveal five things your eye doctor may have told you to use that are bad for dry eye sufferers.  I'm sorry to say that we just didn't know any better.  But, now that we do, I need you to change some of your habits around.  Let's get to it.

 

 

 

 

Baby Shampoo

 

I always feel bad when a patient tells me that they use baby shampoo to clean their eyes.  I know that an eye doctor told them to do it.  Even as early as five years ago,  I also told my patients to clean their eyelids with baby shampoo.  It is what we believed to be good for our patients at the time.  We didn’t know better.  But, now we do. 

 

As eye doctors, we have understood the importance of keeping our lips and lashes clean for decades.  And, we thought that baby shampoo would be good for sensitive eyes.  For years it was advertised as the “no more tears“ brand.  So, we felt that it would be safe and gentle for our patients to use.

 

Now, we understand that soaps and shampoos strip the oils from the lids and lashes where we need them the most.  And, baby shampoo used to contain formaldehyde as one of its preservatives.  Formaldehyde is definitely at the top of my list of ingredients to avoid in eye care products.  If you haven't seen the list of 26 ingredients to avoid in your makeup and personal care products, please download this list of toxins to avoid here.

 

Instead of baby shampoo, keep your lids and lashes free of excess bacteria with either a lid and lash cleansing spray or a tea tree oil foaming scrub.  My two favorites are: HypoChlor from OCuSOFT or Tea Tree Eyelid Foaming Cleanser from We Love Eyes.

 

For years, waterproof mascara was recommended especially for contact lens wears.  Eye doctors felt that the mascara would have less chance of falling into the eyes and irritating patients that way.  However, now we know better. The waxes and parabens that are used in waterproof makeup actually clog up the delicate oil glands on our eyelids.

 

We need these oil glands to function properly in order to have a healthy tear film.  Having that healthy oily layer cover your watery tears is what keeps the front surface of your eye hydrated.

 

Instead of Water-proof mascara, use my favorite brand Beautycounter Volumizing Mascara.  It is good for your eyes, lasts all day, is removed easily, and looks great too. 

We understand the importance of removing your eye make up every night.   If you haven't downloaded the Guide to Makeup Removers.  Makeup left on your lids and lashes all night gives bacteria a home to stay in and food to eat.  Sleeping in your eye makeup is a great way to develop and eye infection fast.

 

Vaseline used to be recommended as an eye makeup remover.  It was inexpensive, easily accessible, and most patients already had some at home. The oily cream can liquefy mascara and eyeliner easily.  You find your cotton ball to be coated with the black remnants of your eye makeup after using it. Eye doctors felt that Vaseline was doing a good job of removing all traces of makeup.

 

However, now we know better.  Vaseline is a byproduct of turning petroleum into gasoline.  And, the product can be left with traces of toxins.  The greasy substance can clog your pores.  This may not cause pimples or styes to form immediately; however, the vaseline is clogging those meibomian, or oil, glands on the eyelids. 

 

When these oil glands become clogged, they usually don't become infected like a stye.  Instead, they slowly stop producing oil and eventually atrophy.  This can lead to severe dry eyes.  If you don’t remember all the reasons not to use petroleum byproducts on our eyes please visit the blog here.

 

Eye whiteners are simply vasoconstricting chemicals disguised in an eye drop bottle.  Vasoconstrictors act to squeeze blood vessels closed and "constrict" the flow of blood.  Usually, these products are labeled as: "Get the red out" or "Relieves Redness".  Examples of these products are Visine, Visine A, Naphcon, Opcon, Clear Eyes, and Rohto.  These products all contain either Hydrozoline or Naphazoline, which are vasoconstrictors.

 

In order for our organs to work properly, they need a continuous blood supply.  Blood brings nutrients and oxygen to the organs in order for them to work properly.  When the blood vessels are constricted, the function of that organ will decrease.

 

Eye whiteners decrease the amount of blood flow to the front surface of the eye.  Their normal dosing is every 4 hours.  After 4 hours, the blood vessels return to normal again.  And, over time eye whiteners can have a rebound effect.  Rebound happens when the blood vessels no longer react to the vasoconstrictors and will stay more read over time and they were, to begin with. 

 

There is one redness reducer that I do recommend for my patients with sensitive eyes.  It does not decrease the blood flow to the eye, but it makes the eye look white and bright.  Check out the blog here to find out.

 

 

In the early 2000s, sleeping in your contact lenses was a big rage. The contact lens manufactures came out with contact lens materials that were five times more oxygen permeable than any lens previously on the market.  A whole new subset of contact lenses called "Extended Wear Lenses" were launched into the market.   Eye doctors across the world believed that this would be great for the eyes.

 

The more oxygen that could reach the front surface of the eye the better. However, even though an adequate amount of oxygen reaches the front surface of the eye while sleeping in the contact lens, the incidence of eye infections did not decrease. 

 

Sleeping in your contact lenses increases the rate of eye infections not only due to a reduction in the amount of oxygen reaching different surface of your eye.  Instead, the risk of eye infection while sleeping in your contact lenses is that bacteria can become trapped underneath the contact lens all night.

 

Our eyes have many natural defense mechanisms.  Blinking and tearing are two of the main defenses of the eye.  When you are asleep, you are not blinking or actively producing tears to flush away bacteria. 

 

The bacteria begin to make themselves comfortable on your eye.  The replicate rapidly and settle into the tissue.  A corneal ulcer is a common type of contact lens-related infection.  Ulcers are painful and sight-threatening.

 

Often, once an ulcer heals a scar can remain on your cornea.  These scars may even prevent you from ever being able to wear contact lenses again.  And, if the infection was in the center of the eye, the scar and reduce your quality of vision.  Find out the best way to keep your contact lenses free of bacteria in the blog here.

 

There you have it the top five worst products to put on your eyes.  Unfortunately, even eye doctors have recommended for you to use the products.  Now we know that these products are not good for your sensitive or dry eyes.  We must re-learn some old habits that we didn't even know were bad.

 

As technology continues to advance, we learn new things and are able to take care of our sensitive eyes better than ever before.  I have always felt that knowledge is power.  And, if more of us know better, we will do better.  Your vision is truly a precious gift.  I hope that this information will help you to take care of it in the best way possible.