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Hi Everyone I wanted to Start this New thread because I would Like to bring up a topic that I don't think has been addressed.
I have done much research on the subject of eye drops and was wanting to suggest some good Ideas.
First off I will Define Dry Eye.
The standard definition for Dry Eye is a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation which causes damage to the iterpalpebral ocular surface (exposed eye surface) and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort.
When you define Dry Eye in this standard way I don’t believe it gives the disease a proper definition. This is mainly because you leave out the rest of the components that make up Dry Eye. You see, when you define Dry Eye as the standard definition the reader ends up portraying the disease as something caused by the Eye Ball itself.
Though later I believed that Dry Eye was caused by something completely opposite.
Therefore, Dry Eye should more properly be defined as; “Disease that compromises the skin and Lubricating Glands of the eyelid, leading to a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation which causes damage to the iterpalpebral ocular surface (exposed eye surface) and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort.”
I believe that Dry Eye is really a Skin Disease, that skin being in the eyelids.
As far as Restoring the Health of the Skin, I have realized that it has been a relatively impossible task due to the current trends in the pharmaceutical eye care industry.
As of Right now I would like to list the types of Eye Drops and Ointments that are available on the market and list their active ingredients.
Water Based lubricating Artificial tears:
These Water based Lubricants/artificial tears normally contain carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (a.k.a. HPMC or hypromellose), and hydroxypropyl cellulose.
Oil Based Emulsion Artificial Tears: These ones on the market contain the ingredients including cyclosporine and Castor oil or Mineral oil and emollients.
Night time Ointments: These ointments all on the market contain a mixture of Petrolatum and mineral oil
Ok Now that I have Listed The active Ingredients in all of the Eye Lubricants on the market I will now, put these complex ingredients into more simple words for those of you who don't have a background in Pharmacy might be able to understand.
The Water Based Lubricating Artificial Tears;
-carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (a.k.a. HPMC or hypromellose), and hydroxypropyl cellulose.
-All these complex Ingredients are just simple water Based Lubricants, a sort of sterilized KY Jelly if you will. In fact if you go to your local Pharmacy and look up what Most water Based Lubricants are made out of you will find the same ingredients.
Oil Based Emulsion Artificial Tears:
-cyclosporine is an immune suppressant used to treat organ transplant patients to prevent from rejecting new organs.
-Castor oil is simply an oil that comes from castor beans.
-Mineral oil, is an oil that is derived from petroleum or crude oil, much like what is refined to power our automobiles.
Night time Ointments:
-Petrolatum a more complex word for Petroleum Jelly
-mineral oil the same as I described it before.
Now the Question is What do all these ointments, Lubricants and emulsions have in common?
The ingredients are all Sterile, due to the nature of the eye and medications, all these medications and ingredients must be boiled in an autoclave at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise we wouldn't have our wonderful artificial tears and ointments because they wouldn't be sterile to use.
Now the Point on why I went to great lengths to talk about eye drops is because I had a Great Idea for a New Type of Eye Drop that may address the current problem with Dry Eye that none of these Eye Drops Address yet.
That is oil.
You see over all the years I have discovered that dry eye is a skin disease, I mean how often do I wake up everyday with dry skin on my eyelids, almost everyday as a dry eye sufferer. That is due to the fact that when I learned much about the skin, I learned that we have Glands Called Sebaceous glands and Meibomian glands that secrete oil to lubricate our skin and lock in moisture. However its a catch 22 for Dry eye Sufferers, Dry eye Sufferers almost always have dry skin because they all have sebaceous glands or meibomian glands that malfunction causing dry skin which is almost always fed on by germs and ends up in a never ending cycle of dryness and infection in the eyelids and the eye.
That is why I hope that in the future Emulsion based eye drops and Non preserved oils may be used to restore the skin health of the eyelids.
My Idea Came from the fact that After trying all the Eye Drops on the Market I still wasn't satisfied, relief wasn't enough.
I realized that the ingredients that current eye drops have just don't do enough for the skin.
Like I said before, Artificial Tears all have Water Based Lubricants in them. Which I learned later from dermatologists that water based lubricants do absolutely nothing for dry skin.
The Emulsion based eye drops are a step in the right Direction, but Still aren't using the best ingredients.
The Mineral Oil that I spoke of, is something that is preferred, because of the price, but in the end you get what you pay for. Mineral oil, in fact I have heard from many dermatologists is not preferred for the skin or its health and in fact many dermatologists advise against it. I have seen time and time again those whom are sensitive to mineral oil and sometimes it causes more harm than good.
Also Castor oil in some emulsion drops is a good step, but I have even heard from some eye physicians who warn that it is photo toxic to the eye, that is why cyclosporine is added to prevent damage. But It is understandable why they chose castor oil in the first place, due to the fact that most other essential oils are very toxic.
Lastly the night time ointments
all made with mineral oil and Petrolatum aka sterilized Petroleum Jelly.
I have heard from some dermatologists that say that Petroleum Jelly is good for skins health, but like mineral oil, is derived from petroleum or crude oil. That is why time and time again many dermatologists are finding that many people are sensitive to petroleum jelly, that it might not be the best choice for everyone, in fighting dry skin.
With all that said; I done a lot of research into all the oils of the world. And wondered if I could find some way to moisturize the eyelids and eye without it being toxic. A way to restore the skins health, without damaging the eyes was no easy task. It was a long search but I did find some interesting results.
When I did my research on dermatology I did discover that the most base ingredient in all lotions and cremes was OIL. Which ironically is the same ingredient that our skin naturally produces to lubricate the eye and heal the skin. So I researched all over and came up with two essential Oils that I wondered if they could be considered in the future for a new type of Emulsion eye drop to help the health of the eyelids skin.
These Two Oils were,
Coconut Oil AND JoJoba Oil
I thought to myself, Woah; what a great Idea it would be to make an emulsion eye drop that actually heals the skin along with lubricating the eyes, this would work amazingly. After all oil doesn't evaporate the way water does, so lubrication would last longer and work better. And the Idea struck me, as clear as day, in fact our eyes use meibum oils to keep our tears from evaporating that's in fact what they normally do what a great Idea.
However, Like I said this is only a Suggestion to Current Pharmacists and Physicians out there who are helping their patients battle Dry Eye.
There is Three Large Obstacles to over come though.
1. Non Preserving the oil eye drops
2. Sterilizing the Oil without changing the composition
3. Testing The Oil in clinical Trials To figure out if these Specific Oils are Photo Toxic to the eye.
It's a Good Start, but I believe More Research should be done on this subject, It would not only help those with blepharitis who have the Dandruff/dry Skin that could be causing the problem...it might even be the solution to dry eye all together!
Best of Wishes
Meibomian Gland Man
I have done much research on the subject of eye drops and was wanting to suggest some good Ideas.
First off I will Define Dry Eye.
The standard definition for Dry Eye is a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation which causes damage to the iterpalpebral ocular surface (exposed eye surface) and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort.
When you define Dry Eye in this standard way I don’t believe it gives the disease a proper definition. This is mainly because you leave out the rest of the components that make up Dry Eye. You see, when you define Dry Eye as the standard definition the reader ends up portraying the disease as something caused by the Eye Ball itself.
Though later I believed that Dry Eye was caused by something completely opposite.
Therefore, Dry Eye should more properly be defined as; “Disease that compromises the skin and Lubricating Glands of the eyelid, leading to a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation which causes damage to the iterpalpebral ocular surface (exposed eye surface) and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort.”
I believe that Dry Eye is really a Skin Disease, that skin being in the eyelids.
As far as Restoring the Health of the Skin, I have realized that it has been a relatively impossible task due to the current trends in the pharmaceutical eye care industry.
As of Right now I would like to list the types of Eye Drops and Ointments that are available on the market and list their active ingredients.
Water Based lubricating Artificial tears:
These Water based Lubricants/artificial tears normally contain carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (a.k.a. HPMC or hypromellose), and hydroxypropyl cellulose.
Oil Based Emulsion Artificial Tears: These ones on the market contain the ingredients including cyclosporine and Castor oil or Mineral oil and emollients.
Night time Ointments: These ointments all on the market contain a mixture of Petrolatum and mineral oil
Ok Now that I have Listed The active Ingredients in all of the Eye Lubricants on the market I will now, put these complex ingredients into more simple words for those of you who don't have a background in Pharmacy might be able to understand.
The Water Based Lubricating Artificial Tears;
-carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (a.k.a. HPMC or hypromellose), and hydroxypropyl cellulose.
-All these complex Ingredients are just simple water Based Lubricants, a sort of sterilized KY Jelly if you will. In fact if you go to your local Pharmacy and look up what Most water Based Lubricants are made out of you will find the same ingredients.
Oil Based Emulsion Artificial Tears:
-cyclosporine is an immune suppressant used to treat organ transplant patients to prevent from rejecting new organs.
-Castor oil is simply an oil that comes from castor beans.
-Mineral oil, is an oil that is derived from petroleum or crude oil, much like what is refined to power our automobiles.
Night time Ointments:
-Petrolatum a more complex word for Petroleum Jelly
-mineral oil the same as I described it before.
Now the Question is What do all these ointments, Lubricants and emulsions have in common?
The ingredients are all Sterile, due to the nature of the eye and medications, all these medications and ingredients must be boiled in an autoclave at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise we wouldn't have our wonderful artificial tears and ointments because they wouldn't be sterile to use.
Now the Point on why I went to great lengths to talk about eye drops is because I had a Great Idea for a New Type of Eye Drop that may address the current problem with Dry Eye that none of these Eye Drops Address yet.
That is oil.
You see over all the years I have discovered that dry eye is a skin disease, I mean how often do I wake up everyday with dry skin on my eyelids, almost everyday as a dry eye sufferer. That is due to the fact that when I learned much about the skin, I learned that we have Glands Called Sebaceous glands and Meibomian glands that secrete oil to lubricate our skin and lock in moisture. However its a catch 22 for Dry eye Sufferers, Dry eye Sufferers almost always have dry skin because they all have sebaceous glands or meibomian glands that malfunction causing dry skin which is almost always fed on by germs and ends up in a never ending cycle of dryness and infection in the eyelids and the eye.
That is why I hope that in the future Emulsion based eye drops and Non preserved oils may be used to restore the skin health of the eyelids.
My Idea Came from the fact that After trying all the Eye Drops on the Market I still wasn't satisfied, relief wasn't enough.
I realized that the ingredients that current eye drops have just don't do enough for the skin.
Like I said before, Artificial Tears all have Water Based Lubricants in them. Which I learned later from dermatologists that water based lubricants do absolutely nothing for dry skin.
The Emulsion based eye drops are a step in the right Direction, but Still aren't using the best ingredients.
The Mineral Oil that I spoke of, is something that is preferred, because of the price, but in the end you get what you pay for. Mineral oil, in fact I have heard from many dermatologists is not preferred for the skin or its health and in fact many dermatologists advise against it. I have seen time and time again those whom are sensitive to mineral oil and sometimes it causes more harm than good.
Also Castor oil in some emulsion drops is a good step, but I have even heard from some eye physicians who warn that it is photo toxic to the eye, that is why cyclosporine is added to prevent damage. But It is understandable why they chose castor oil in the first place, due to the fact that most other essential oils are very toxic.
Lastly the night time ointments
all made with mineral oil and Petrolatum aka sterilized Petroleum Jelly.
I have heard from some dermatologists that say that Petroleum Jelly is good for skins health, but like mineral oil, is derived from petroleum or crude oil. That is why time and time again many dermatologists are finding that many people are sensitive to petroleum jelly, that it might not be the best choice for everyone, in fighting dry skin.
With all that said; I done a lot of research into all the oils of the world. And wondered if I could find some way to moisturize the eyelids and eye without it being toxic. A way to restore the skins health, without damaging the eyes was no easy task. It was a long search but I did find some interesting results.
When I did my research on dermatology I did discover that the most base ingredient in all lotions and cremes was OIL. Which ironically is the same ingredient that our skin naturally produces to lubricate the eye and heal the skin. So I researched all over and came up with two essential Oils that I wondered if they could be considered in the future for a new type of Emulsion eye drop to help the health of the eyelids skin.
These Two Oils were,
Coconut Oil AND JoJoba Oil
I thought to myself, Woah; what a great Idea it would be to make an emulsion eye drop that actually heals the skin along with lubricating the eyes, this would work amazingly. After all oil doesn't evaporate the way water does, so lubrication would last longer and work better. And the Idea struck me, as clear as day, in fact our eyes use meibum oils to keep our tears from evaporating that's in fact what they normally do what a great Idea.
However, Like I said this is only a Suggestion to Current Pharmacists and Physicians out there who are helping their patients battle Dry Eye.
There is Three Large Obstacles to over come though.
1. Non Preserving the oil eye drops
2. Sterilizing the Oil without changing the composition
3. Testing The Oil in clinical Trials To figure out if these Specific Oils are Photo Toxic to the eye.
It's a Good Start, but I believe More Research should be done on this subject, It would not only help those with blepharitis who have the Dandruff/dry Skin that could be causing the problem...it might even be the solution to dry eye all together!
Best of Wishes
Meibomian Gland Man