Q: Dr. Dzubur for how long should I be cleaning my eyelids with this lid wash product?

A: For as long as you brush your teeth. When you give up on oral hygiene you can give up on eyelid hygiene because at that point you have probably given up.

Any one of my patients who has asked me how long should they stay with a Lid Hygiene regiment have heard the above response. I consider Eyelid hygiene comparable to oral hygiene.

We can tell that, by the end of the day, our teeth have amassed a biofilm on them by running our tongue across the front of our teeth and feeling lack of that smooth and slippery texture we are used to. A very similar biofilm collects along the rim of our eyelids, and the only way to have it removed is by gently scrubbing our eyelid/eyelash margin with a non-soapy eyelid foam, spray, or wipe.

I say non-soapy because any type of soap is not beneficial for the delicate equilibrium required for our tears to function optimally. If you get a stain on your clothes, soap and water is a great way to get that grease out, but the grease or oil that is found in our tear-film is very important to the homeostasis of the tears and soap will break down a good amount of this oil.

So……..to sum it all up.

A good Eyelid Scrub session in the morning will go a long way in keeping your tears much healthier in the long run.