a new dry eye treatment..

[Rebecca Petris]

I can say that as Clarymist has a mechanical action rather than a pharmacological one (it's classed as a medical device rather than a drug), there is no chance of interferance with natural tear/eye physiology.

Don't mean to nitpick and I think this is all an interesting concept, but I'm not quite sure what you mean by the phrase I highlighted above.

I honestly don't think I know the difference between mechanical and pharmacological action when we're talking about the tear film but it certainly cannot be claimed that this product is not going to directly affect the tear film. Products applied on or near the eyes do reach and affect the tear film and this is discussed in the clinical trial report at this link where among other things I think it's claimed that the phospholipids are helping stabilize the lipid layer of the tear film. Seems to me that means changing the physiology of the natural tear, hopefully (but like any product, not necessarily guaranteed) for the better.

[Rebecca Petris]

Judith - I was able to download the PDF of the clinical and can email it to you if you like. There is no mention of adverse effects in it.

Sorry to hear about the lid problem. Funny, I am having something similar (think I've got a couple of blocked glands actually - very tender spot in the middle of the upper left lid) that started around the time I started using a new product (Sterilid). Still don't know whether it was coincidence or cause-and-affect but I stopped just in case. There's an ingredient list here

[judith]

Thank you Rebecca for the offer of the email but I did eventually manage to read the paper. My eyes are better now and I think I will introduce Clarymist again and see what happens. I had been using Clarymist several times a day and did wonder if it was too much. I will let you know how I get on.
Your comment about interference with natural physiology is interesting. Surely it must interfere to some degree? I am not sure how they can be so confident that it doesn't

[Tony Barnes]

Hi there,

Sorry for slow reply - had forgotten I needed to check this forum

The agent that it is likely that you could be sensitive to is the phenoxyethanol - it's used as it's accepted very well by the vast majority of people. It also volatises during the spray action, so very little impacts on your eyelid, and then an even smaller amount can putatively get into the eye as the evaporation will have continued. It tends to be used a lot in the cosmetics industry, with eye creams from many of the "big boys" containing it.

Do let me know if the problem starts up again when you continue use - it could be that you are a sensitive individual.

Rebecca - regarding the mechanical/pharmacological effect - the liposomes aren't causing any sort of action/reaction in the tear film, they are simply providing the building blocks for a stable lipid layer. In this sense it is mechanical. If they had been causing, for example, an increase in lipid output from the meibomian glands, then it would have been a pharmacological effect.

As soon as you stop using Clarymist, the only thing that changes is that the building blocks are no longer supplied. The mechanisms of tear production and removal are left to their own devices.

Unfortunately physiology is defined as the mechanical, physical and biochemical nature of living things, so may not be the best term to use - I'm not aware of a more suitable one though!!

However, it is classed as a medical device, and as such is in the same category of products as a defibrilator/plaster/support/etc, and not a drug.

Cheers

Tony

[Rebecca Petris]

Thanks for the clarification/additional info Tony - much appreciated.

Medical product classifications are mind-boggling sometimes aren't they. In the US, artificial tears are "drugs" but contact lens wetting drops are regulated as "medical devices" even though used directly in the eye.

[Tony Barnes]

No worries

[judith]

Thanks Tony
I will let you know. As I said, I have never been allergic to anything in my life so far, so I hope its unlikely. I will let you know
Thanks