Don’t be fooled again! Have you fallen into the trap of eyewash?

In recent years, with the exaggerated promotion of live-streaming stars, eyewash has become widely popular. Merchants have used slogans such as "natural and gentle, safe and bright eyes" to attract a large number of young people. However, many doubts have also emerged. So, are eyewashes reliable?

1. Can eyewash really clean your eyes?

First, let's understand the normal cleaning function of the eyes. The eyes have a self-cleaning function. Our usual blinking action, also known as the blink reaction, is a protective neural reflex action that can evenly distribute tears on the cornea and conjunctiva to keep them moist.

The main components of tears are water, electrolytes, nitrogen-containing substances, sugars, organic acids, vitamins, lysozyme, lipids, etc., among which lysozyme is a natural antibacterial substance. Necrotic cells and tissues produced by their own metabolism or contact with external dust and floating objects will be washed out through the tears secreted by the eyes, and the lysozyme in the tears will also destroy harmful substances. Under normal circumstances, tear secretion can usually meet the normal cleaning needs of the ocular surface in daily life.

If eye wash solutions, eye drops, etc. are used inappropriately, it is easy to destroy the ocular surface's own bacterial environment, leading to dysbiosis, thereby increasing the risk of ocular surface disease.

In fact, the eyewash solutions that are popular on the Internet have little effect on cleansing the eyes, and the eyewashing methods they demonstrate are also wrong. For example, some celebrities use this method of eyewashing during live broadcasts: put an eyewash cup on the eye, rotate the eyeball, and wash the eyes for about 20 seconds. This is actually a "stagnant water immersion" eye surface method. During the eyewashing process, it is very likely that bacteria present in the eyelid skin and eyelid margin will be brought to the eye surface, which increases the risk of infection.

As for the exaggerated publicity of merchants that eyewash can flush out the "garbage" in the eyes, most of it is the meibomian gland secretions (commonly known as eye boogers) that have not yet dried up. Under normal circumstances, these secretions will form eye boogers and be discharged from the eyes without flushing.

Image source: Pixabay

So again, under normal circumstances our eyes do not need additional cleaning. As mentioned above, our eyes have their own cleaning function when they are healthy. Frequent additional use of flushing fluid will be counterproductive.

2.Is eyewash harmful to the eyes?

Let’s first understand the ingredients of eyewash. The main ingredients on the labels of eyewash on the market are: ampheniramine maleate, chondroitin sodium sulfate, dipotassium glycyrrhizinate, vitamin B6, taurine, vitamin B12, traditional Chinese medicine, etc.

Chondroitin sodium sulfate: an acidic mucopolysaccharide extracted from cartilage. It is mainly used clinically to lower blood lipids, treat neuralgia, etc., with relatively small toxic side effects; Taurine: one of the components of the traditional Chinese medicine bezoar, an endogenous amino acid that can enhance immunity, regulate the excitability of nerve tissue, etc.; Dipotassium glycyrrhizinate: made from licorice as the raw material, extracted with water and then completely neutralized with potassium hydroxide or potassium carbonate. It is often used in anti-inflammatory potions and ointments; The above ingredients are relatively normal.

Image source: provided by the author

However, ampheniramine maleate can counteract the dilation of capillaries caused by allergic reactions and reduce the permeability of capillaries. It is mainly used for skin allergies, allergic rhinitis and other allergic symptoms. This ingredient is also known as "chlorpheniramine". I believe everyone is familiar with it. One tablet of chlorpheniramine contains 4mg of ampheniramine maleate. The recommended daily dosage is 12mg. Adverse reactions include drowsiness, thirst, polyuria, sore throat, palpitations, skin ecchymosis, bleeding tendency, etc.

The content of ampheniramine maleate in a bottle of eyewash is not high, but adverse reactions of this ingredient will also occur when it is not used in excess, and frequent use will cause drug dependence.

Eyewashes also add preservatives to extend their shelf life. Frequent contact with preservatives can damage the health of the cornea and even cause blindness. Therefore, no matter how nutritious the eyewash is, it cannot make up for the damage to the eyes caused by adding preservatives.

The antibiotics in the eyewash are mainly for bacterial infections on the ocular surface, but if there are no signs of infection, long-term use will damage the flora structure and lead to dysbiosis. As for some borneol Chinese medicinal ingredients, they will make you feel cool after use. Although the impact on the eyes may be small, there are not many other benefits after cooling.

Protecting your eyes should start with improving your lifestyle. If you have eye diseases, it is recommended to go to a regular hospital for treatment and medication, and actively receive symptomatic treatment to avoid delaying the disease. Eyewash alone cannot solve the disease problem.

3. What is the principle of using eyewash to clean the eyes? Can it be replaced by purified water?

The purpose of flushing the eyes with eyewash is to soak the eyeball and flush out the flocs in the eye, but this incorrect flushing method and frequent operation are harmful to the eyes.

However, purified water cannot be used as a substitute. Purified water is a hypotonic solution. Once it enters the eyes, it can easily disrupt the balance of tears. The outermost cells on the surface of the eyes become swollen in a hypotonic environment and are particularly prone to infection. This is also the reason why people's eyes are prone to inflammation after swimming.

4. Correct use of eyewash and applicable population

Eyewashing in medicine is a process of "flushing" the eye surface with running water, which means flushing the conjunctival sac. That is, when necessary, medical eyewash solution is flushed into the conjunctival sac through systematic operation, and then an eye cup is placed on the outer eye so that the above liquid will automatically flow into the eye cup after flushing the eye surface, ensuring that the eye will not be contaminated. This is done when the conjunctiva or cornea is injured or before ophthalmic surgery, to remove foreign matter or secretions in the conjunctival sac by flushing, with the purpose of reducing eye damage, avoiding infection, and ensuring the smooth progress and effectiveness of the operation.

Image source: Baidu Images

At the same time, eyewashing has a complex procedure. You should first open your eyelids and use medical eyewash to clean the fornix and other places where dirt is easily hidden. It must be operated by professionals using a special eyewash device. It is not like what the merchants advertise, just get a small cup, fill it with medicine, cover your eyes, and then move around and blink.

Therefore, I hope everyone will be cautious when using eye washes that are popular online. If you have dry and tired eyes every day, you can let your eyes rest intermittently to relax the eye muscles, or you can use some regular artificial tears to relieve dry eyes. Even if you accidentally let makeup fall into your eyes when removing makeup, it is recommended to use physiological saline or artificial tears without preservatives to rinse, which is relatively safe, but the rinsing should not be frequent.

In short, any eye discomfort should be treated in a regular hospital, and medication should be used reasonably under the guidance of a doctor. You have to believe that "even if you use Jing Tian's eye wash, you can't wash Jing Tian's eyes"!

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Xu Xuan, associate chief physician, standing member of the Child Health Committee of the China Maternal and Child Health Association, and member of the Ophthalmology Committee of the Chongqing Health Promotion and Health Education Society.

Xu Chunhong is a resident and graduate student in ophthalmology.

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