Many of us now wash our faces merely by splashing water on to it. We no longer use a soap and flannel as was the habit twenty years ago. Although this may be gentler for our skin it is not better for our eyes. Unless you are meticulous at removing your makeup, many people do not clean eyelid margins thoroughly enough.
Not cleaning our eyes properly allows bacteria that live around the eye to become overactive as they have a plentiful supply of secretions and dead skin to feed on. Often these bacteria release toxins that irritate the eye causing dry eye symptoms.
Not cleaning our eyes carefully also allows detritus to block the meibomian glands causing meibomian gland dysfunction.
We may ask you to carry out intensive lid hygiene to keep the lids and lid margins clean.
We do not recommend baby shampoo as this has been shown to destroy the lipid layer of the tears.
We will recommend and supply you with the correct type of lid wipes or proper lid scrubbing solutions and teach you how to clean your lids effectively.
In cases of Demodex, we will either recommend specialised wipes or additional in house treatment for Demodex irradication.