great improvement with dry eye by using Melcare's Optimel Manuka Eye Drops

[kennyP]

i am long time reader and first time poster. i have been suffering with dry eyes for over 5 years. i would read 'our dry eye triumphs' forum and try out things that other people found success with but had no luck. I read quiet a few post about using honey but could not get hold of sterile honey drops. Read a post about Melcare's Optimel Manuka Eye Drops post and thought i would give it a try. Drops are quiet expensive but after couple of months i pulled the trigger and ordered it from ebay. I did not notice any difference for a month or so but after that i saw major improvement. i went from using dry eye drops every couple of hours to using it couple of times a day. Only time i have to use it more often is when i do not get good sleep. The only other change i have made in my daily routine is taking curcumin pills which i take every other day. i did not take this for my eyes. i do want to point out that i am asian indian and turmeric is already part of my daily diet, so i do not believe that taking the pills helped out my dry eyes. i hope this helps.

[Minni]

Interesting! I had also seen that post re: the manuka eye drops, but from what I'd gathered, the drops were all the way in Australia, unless I'm mistaken.

You may wanna look out for my "honey-revision" tip on this forum. I think you'll be able to relate to it.

[fran_q]

i''m interested in night blurriness and restasis if there are any comments.

[PG]

This is from the Melcare website:

Optimel Manuka+ Dry Eye Drops assist the surface health of the eye by creating a microenvironment that supports healing and prevents further damage. When applied to the surface of the eye, Optimel Manuka+ Dry Eye Drops provide an environment that through low pH, acts on bacteria that may potentially colonise the traumatised surface.

Patients with tear deficiency and meibomian gland disease have an overgrowth of ocular flora. This overgrowth is thought to contribute to the tear film instability and ocular surface damage. Both topical and systemic antibiotics can significantly reduce the Colony Forming Units (CFUs) in eyes with chronic lid disease. With the increase of resistance among ocular pathogens (Cernak et al 2011),the efficacy of antibiotic therapeutic regimens is being reduced.

Application of Optimel Manuka+ Dry Eye Drops 3 times daily to the inferior conjunctival fornix can significantly reduce CFUs from baseline at month 1 in the eyelids of patients with dry eye caused by tear deficiency and/or meibomian gland disease.

Reduction of CFUs reduces the potential susceptibility of the dry eye patient to bacterial conjunctivitis and keratitis. The reduction in CFUs may also assist in improving the clinical symptoms of dry eye disease by reducing the production of certain bacterial lipases that are thought to hydrolyse meibomian gland lipids.

Albietz and Lenton also reported that the application of antibacterial Leptospermum sp honey (Manuka) was associated with signficant clinical improvements in dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction. The only adverse effects noted with the use of Optimel Manuka+ Dry Eye Drops in the eye are stinging and redness. No serious adverse effects are noted.

INGREDIENTS(Patent pending)

Leptospermum sp Honey, Sodium Chloride, Benzoic Acid.

Benzoic acid is a widely used food preservative that is rapidly metabolised by the liver and found at naturally high levels in honey from Leptospermum sp. It has been chosen as the preferred preservative because of its long history of use, natural presence in honey and its preservative effectiveness in low pH solutions such as Optimel Manuka+ Dry Eye Drops.

[Faith1989]

How do you get these outside Austrailia?

[waterbee]

you can find these on ebay (bit pricey with postage) or they are easy to get if you live (or know someone who can post them) in Australia. i tried them but couldn't cope as the stinging they caused was pretty brutal, but that is normal apparently i just didn't want to keep using something that hurt until it was my last option. (oh - They also go out of date after three months, so you need to stock up on them if you decide to use them often.) im glad to see someone having success with them, ive heard alot of good feedback from those that have tried them.

[Minni]

you can find these on ebay (bit pricey with postage) or they are easy to get if you live (or know someone who can post them) in Australia. i tried them but couldn't cope as the stinging they caused was pretty brutal, but that is normal apparently i just didn't want to keep using something that hurt until it was my last option. (oh - They also go out of date after three months, so you need to stock up on them if you decide to use them often.) im glad to see someone having success with them, ive heard alot of good feedback from those that have tried them.

I could not find them on Ebay, even using various search terms.

Also:
Did you try Melcare's eye drops several days before discarding?

The reason I'd like to know, is because years ago, the [discontinued] Dwelle stung initially (tolerably so).
Eventually I got used to it, because they turned out to feel healing the next day. That was the opposite experience from other drops which initially felt good, but later caused me to feel dried-out. Note, I'm an extreme case, due to severely atrophied lids proven by pics I finally got this past year.

Also note, that I wonder whether Dwelle's ingredients contained an ingredient that mimicked honey, due to the sorta-similar effect.

In fact, it's why I'd decided to try the mild version of Rohto (advised for sensitives).
Because people were reporting initial stinging, but later feeling good.
To my disappointment, it turned out that, unlike the stinging-Dwelle and stinging-Honey...
...the stinging-Rohto was horrible, causing my eyes to feel like they were exploding, and later felt irritated.

[waterbee]

i must admit i used them only once. i do wish i had given them a go now a bit longer, but at the time i was mid treatment for lyme disease and had a huge improvement in the pain my eyes cause so was wary to mess with things further. i just thought - wow thats more pain then actually having dry eye! ill pass! lol i think i would try them again now on reflection, give them a chance.
i was sent some directly from Australia (i think they had to be ordered in from a chemist though by my freind, and she said she wouldnt do it again as it was a lot of trouble as she doesn't live near a big city) but i originally found them on ebay (though didnt order) and thats how i got the idea to try them (but didn't as the postage was crazy and then my friend offered to help) i see people talking about them often on the dry eye facebook party page, so might be worth asking someone to link you the page that sells them on there.

[pattyleo]

The Optimel Manuka Honey eye drops come in two strengths. The lower concentrated one comes in a small 10ml bottle. It stings a little on application and makes the surrounding areas a bit sticky. The higher concentration (98% - basically straight honey) comes in a tube and stings quite a bit after application, it can take up to 5 mins for the stinging to subside. They are supposed to be good for blepharitis and dry eye but I am not sold on them yet.

[PG]

I have been looking into this because I bought the Optimel Manuka drops awhile back but never opened them.

This is what I found - Manuka honey is made by bees that pollinate the Manuka tree. Manuka is a species of tea tree. Coincidentally, Cliradex wipes for demodex are derived from Melaleuca, which is another species of tea tree. The tea tree connection between these products is kind of interesting, I think. Apparently the chemicals in tea tree oil may kill bacteria. And these drops claim that the honey made by the bees pollinating the tree is also antibacterial.

[PG]

I tried the drops. After you open them they expire in two months. I applied a small drop on a q-tip and rubbed along the lower lid margin (squeezes out of a tube). You do it 3x/day. I had a mild to moderate (and delayed) sting that lasted 30 seconds or so. By the end of the day I had some mild irritation. Maybe I'll try it again, but not 3x day.

[waterbee]

ive been trying these again after finaly finding some in the UK! they sting so much! its crazy and i freak out before i use them because i know im in for 30 seconds of UGHGHGHGHGH, but after my eyes water and its wonderful (more from the irritated but still nice) i can only cope with twice a day or they irritate my eyes to much but that seems to be all i need as ive finding an improvement after only a few days. (now this might also be due to the fact im doing some pretty out there things right now, like high dose vitamin c IV and antivirals, infrared saunas and chlorella for detox, so i cant say its all down to that yet but il see as times go on. il up date you guys if interested in the new year. anything is worth ago and it seems now you can get these in the uk which will open alot of doors for us who couldnt get them before to try.

[PG]

I tried these drops again. This time I used lid wipes first and the drops stung more. A sharp sting. It lasted a full minute and my eyes watered. I did used the drops for two days, 1x a day. Whooa, my lid margins are inflamed and bright pink. These drops are not for me. I will need at least 4 days to recover from this.

[waterbee]

so i did a small experiment with these last week. used my normal drops in one eye (clinitas) and the honey in the other.
what i saw was a bigger improvement in the eye i was using the honey in, mostly in terms of the dreaded stinging and the effect of wind on the eye.
im going to put some coconut oil on my lids now too, ( i LOVE that these are two natural products) since i just was inspired by another post.
keep updating us guys.

[beckyfromoz]

I have dry eye, Blepharitis and pinguecula in both eyes. My last tear function test showed my left eye scored 1 out of ten and my right eye 2 out of 10. Because of the Blepharitis and dry eye my Pinguculas are constantly getting inflamed.

I have tried many lubricating eye drops, all of which just made my eyes more dry and irritated. I was also put on Restasis but decided to discontinue use and I was not 100% comfortable with the potential side affects.

I recenently had success with the optimal Manuka honey eye drops. I started using them 2 weeks ago and so far the results have been positive. They seem to be keeping my Blepharitis under control and my eyes definitely feel more moisturised. I can actually see moisture on my eyes. My eyes are also less red and my Pinguculas are no where near as inflamed and red. The veins going to my pings have also lessened in redness. It actually looks like my pings have shrunk but this could just be because my eyes are not as dry and have some moisture covering them.

I am also using a warm eye bag for 10 minutes at night and taking krill oil and zinc. I was advised to stop using lid scrubs or any chemical products on my eye so now after I use the eye bag I just use a warm wash cloth to gently exfoliate my lid line then use the Manuka eye drops straight after.

At the moment I am using them 2 to 4 times a day. They do sting a lot but this is usually only for 30 seconds. I just put one drop in each eye and keep my eyes closed for a minute and then open them. The first few days I used these drops I thought they were making my eyes more red and irritated but after that I started to really notice an improvement, even more so at the 2 week mark. The website does say it takes a month to see the full effect of these drops so my eyes may even improve more.

Like I said I have tried so many different drops including steroids and these are the only drops that have helped me so far. Everything else just seemed to make things worse after a week.

I am from Australia and have been in the UK for 2 months now and I ordered through

http://www.butterflies-eyecare.co.uk...eye-drops.html

I tried to add a before and after photo but it is saying invalid file attachment 🤔. I will try again tomorrow as I am on my phone and might have more success on a computer.

Hope me this helps!
Bec