saran wrap under your sleeping mask

[Mariez]

Saran Wrap Does Work

The Saran wrap really does work. I have been using it for 2 nights now and my eyes feel great--no pain at all through the day. You only need a little square about 1 1/2 inches by 2 inches or so to press over your eye. It really does seal the moisture in and it is easy to use under a sleep mask. I have had fairly severe chronic dry eye for about 3 years now. Nothing really helps a lot--I use Restasis, punctal plugs and have used Lotemax until I found out I was senstitive to the steroids in Lotemax and my eye pressure increased. The Sara wrap seems to be a safer alternative for me than Lotemax.

[Jennifer Krueger]

Saran Wrap on Eyes: Beware!

I just want to let you all know that I tried saran wrap at night and while it did help with the moisture - I ended up with a stubborn MG blockage/infection that I have never had before. I have severe dry eyes from a previous blepharoplasty and can't fully close them at night - but had not had much glandular involvement complicating the issue until now.

I used saran wrap for five nights under my goggles, and buy day six, woke up to find that my lids were flaking, swollen, itchy, and sore. This has never happened before and my theory is that bacteria, which love a moist, warm environment, thrived under that saran wrap where little air was circulating. I attribute the saran wrap because it is the only change I've made to my nightly routine, and so is likely the culprit.

Beware! Cling wrap may give you added moisture, but could also result in a bacterial infection, clogged glands, or both. Just wanted to put that out there in case you're considering it : ) If only we could all find the perfect solution to the need for moisture (especially at night)!!!!

[calcan]

I just want to let you all know that I tried saran wrap at night and while it did help with the moisture - I ended up with a stubborn MG blockage/infection that I have never had before. I have severe dry eyes from a previous blepharoplasty and can't fully close them at night - but had not had much glandular involvement complicating the issue until now.

I used saran wrap for five nights under my goggles, and buy day six, woke up to find that my lids were flaking, swollen, itchy, and sore. This has never happened before and my theory is that bacteria, which love a moist, warm environment, thrived under that saran wrap where little air was circulating. I attribute the saran wrap because it is the only change I've made to my nightly routine, and so is likely the culprit.

Beware! Cling wrap may give you added moisture, but could also result in a bacterial infection, clogged glands, or both. Just wanted to put that out there in case you're considering it : ) If only we could all find the perfect solution to the need for moisture (especially at night)!!!!

I agree - I think saran wrap will promote the growth of bacteria, especially overnight in the darkness. I tried it for a few days, but I quit because it occurred to me that bacteria would thrive in such an environment. Perhaps it would work for people who do not have blepharitis.

[ringo]

Thank you Jennifer for sharing this experience and I am so sorry to hear what you are going through...i was about to try the saran wrap and I had bought it, thank you for your post, an eye infection is the last thing I need added to the other problems with my eyes...thank you, and please keep us posted on your improvement...

[Guest]

Well, I tried Saran wrap last night... It seemed so wierd to be doing such a thing, but wow! It really made a difference with the whole eyelid sticking thing... hopefully last night wasn't a fluke!!

Due to Jennifer's bad experience tho, I'll keep a close eye on my lids for any signs of trouble. I'm also being very careful to keep the Saran wrap very clean before putting it over my eyes.

[Jennifer Krueger]

Update: Saran Wrap

I just thought I'd provide an update. I stopped using the saran wrap shortly before I posted my last message due to the development of either a bacterial infection or clogged glands (or both?) as described in my last post. Since then, my eyes have improved markedly. I had gone to see an occuplastic surgeon over the summer and had described my routine to him (lid scrub, genteal, goggles or sleeping mask, etc.) and he said to me, "You know Jennifer, sometimes less is more..." At the time, I thought, "He clearly doesn't get what I'm dealing with or he'd understand why I need a fully stocked arsenal to deal with this maddening problem." But as it turns out - less is more. After the blepharitis (which by the way, I had never had until I used the mask/saran wrap combo - my DES stems from lagophthalmos - not closing my eyes all the way at night), I tried sleeping without the mask and instead just used a humidifier near my bed. I found that I did just as well without the mask as with it, and the blepharitis cleared up.

I know that wearning a mask greatly helps many people with DES, but just bear in mind that combining too many strategies (saran wrap, gel/ointment, sleep mask/goggles, added moisture from wetting mask/goggles) can be a recipe for infection/further irritation. The more unnatural you make the environment around your eyes, the more tempting it might be for bacteria to multiply. Bacteria thrive in warm, moist environments.

I still wake a few times a night to put in gel (sometimes only once if during the other times I can blink and get a little moisture going), but my eyes are no where near as irritated or dry as when my glands were clogged, which was over a period of several months that I was experimenting with different masks, gels and such. I live in a warm, humid place (Texas) and it's very easy for the eye area to get moist and bacteria friendly using the mask alone. As mentioned, I know that the masks are a great help to many people, but in my opinion - you need to really make sure they're clean in order to benefit from them, and I'd nix the saran wrap altogether just because it's not worth risking infection. By the way - I always used a clean, fresh piece of saran wrap on each eye, cleaned the eye area thoroughly before going to bed, and I still got an infection.


Jennifer

[Rebecca Petris]

I really appreciate this thread and I really appreciate your update. I think that the "less is more" advice is very good. Both under-treating and over-treating have their risks for sure - so we have to work to find that middle ground most appropriate for us, as you have done.

I don't suppose there's any way to know whether the plastic wrap routine is inherently more risky than breatheable goggles/masks (seems like it might be more prone to attract & trap stuff I suppose). At any rate this certainly is, among other things, a good reminder that we need to weigh risks/benefits carefully, put hygiene at the top of our priority list if we're using night eyewear, and always remember that a dry ocular surface really is a diseased ocular surface so it is more vulnerable to environmental stress... including bacteria in the eyewear.