Good News for Tired, Irritated Eyes
Ivan Mac, MD MBA
One of the most common ailments
my patients complain of is redness,
irritation, and a burning sensation
in their eyes.
Typically this is near the eyelid
margins at the root of the eyelashes
- a gathering ground for microbial deposits that cause a condition
known as blepharitis.
A new treatment solution called
Avenova™ is an extremely effective
way to treat the disorder, and an
excellent alternative to traditional
treatments.
Blepharitis, a common condition
causing inflammation of the eyelids can affect the inside or outside
of the eyelids, and is challenging to
manage as it recurs. Over 23 million patients who walk into an Optometrist or an Ophthalmologist’s
Spring 2015
office have symptoms consistent
with moderate to severe anterior or
posterior blepharitis.
difficult for patients to follow the
routine and sometimes the symptoms do not go away quickly.
I have noticed my own patients
who suffer from this inflammatory condition usually complain
of itchiness, redness, flaking, and
crusting of the eyelids. I find that
it affects both children and adults
alike, and is common in all ethnic
groups, across all ages. Debris deposits on the eyelids, lashes and
sensitive skin on the eyelid contain microorganisms; this, in turn,
causes irritation, inflammation and
sometimes infection.
The new approach: Avenova - an
easy and quick acting bottled solution. It utilizes Neutrox™, a pure
0.01% concentration of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in a saline.
While acid on your eyes sounds
frightening (not to worry, Neutrox
is completely safe) such acid is a
bactericidal component of the innate immune system. It’s actually
produced by your neutrophil white
blood cells to fight infection. However, when the irritation and infection is severe enough, and one's
own defenses are unable to do so,
the engineered formulation found
in Avenova is an effective solution
to cleanse and remove microorganisms associated with blepharitis.
Traditionally, it has been treated
with different treatments ranging
from warm compresses to dabbing
baby shampoo on the eyelid where
the redness and soreness occurs.
I recall a 35-year-old male patient
who had a chronic form of the
disease and had tried baby shampoo scrubs, which actually made
his symptoms worse; he had to be
maintained on a low-dose intermittent topical steroid for relief. He
had failed oral doxycycline therapy
and OTC lid hygiene products did
not improve his condition. In addition to intermittent steroids, the
patient was using hot compresses
up to four times a day and an over
the counter eye drop. It is a cumbersome regimen, but in the case of
this patient, the symptoms were relieved. However, the patient complained of very dry eyes. It's often
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Packaged in a glass bottle with a
spray top and dispensed onto a
cotton pad or cotton round, the
solution actually scrubs and cleans
the lashes and lid surface known as
periocular skin. It is non-toxic to
human tissues and non-irritating.
Avenova may be used twice daily:
in the morning and at bedtime.
In my experience it has resulted in
consistently positive results with
complete resolution occurring
for some patients within 2 weeks.
Most patients feel it is very effective
and report a "refreshing" feeling after application.
You may not think that burning
and irritated eyes are so debilitating, but they can be. One of my
patients, a 75-year-old man, was
quite active in his retirement. Some
of his activities included cycling
and amateur photography - both
which relied upon his eyesight
without any distractions or other
irritations. He suffered from classic blepharitis. It had gotten so bad
that he couldn't engage in these
hobbies. When he came into my
office, like so many other patients,
he was seeking relief. Not wanting
to detract from his quality of life,
he used a regimen of Avenova.
Within a month the symptoms and
the condition were greatly relieved.
For him, Avenova was a vast improvement that helped him return
to his normal lifestyle and hobbies,
free from the irritations of blepharitis. He uses Avenova as a daily
maintenance therapy once a day
and continues to do well.
For more information about
Avenova, visit www.avenova.com,
or call 1 (800) 890-0329.
avenova.com
Spring 2015