To-Do List: Brush Teeth! Floss! Scrub Lids?

It seems that someone is tampering with your personal hygiene checklist. In addition to caring for your dandruff, perspiration, and halitosis, now you need to pay more attention to your eyelid margins.

Sounds silly, but it is really a good idea. Oh, if you think this is a sales pitch you should review the disclosure printed below.

The product is called SteriLid. It is a topical foam that is applied to the eyelid margins with the fingertip.

Many folks with dry, red and irritated eyes often have an eyelid problem. The eyeball is merely an innocent bystander, bathed in a toxic tear film.

Here's the scoop: Healthy human skin is coated with bacteria. These germs usually live peacefully on the skin surface and bother nobody. Inflammation will begin if there is an overgrowth of bacteria or if the immune system gets agitated by the bugs. This inflammation interferes with healthy tear production, specifically the oil component. SteriLid kills the bacteria that normally inhabit the eyelids.

People with chronic blepharitis and acne rosacea should consider using this product in addition to whatever lid hygiene routine that has been prescribed for them. Of course, never make changes to any medical treatment plan without first consulting your doctor.

Did you know that endophthalmitis, a serious eye infection that can occur after intraocular surgery, is most often caused by the patient's own eyelid bacteria. Yep, those germs were inadvertently introduced into the sterile eye during the surgical procedures. To prevent this tragic complication, eye surgeons routinely instruct their preoperative patients to cleanse their lids at home prior to surgery, simply to reduce the overall number of bacteria. Pre-surgical scrubbing with a disinfectant usually finishes the job in the operating room. Again, this innovative product can help lower the risk of postoperative infection.

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Lloyd has nothing to disclose except advancing male-pattern baldness. Another balding physician, Dr. 'Inventor of the Artificial Heart' Jarvik, is a paid spokesman for the drug Lipitor. However, unlike Dr. Jarvik, Dr. Lloyd hates paid M.D. endorsements almost as much as he hates eye infections! Dr. Lloyd received nothing from the makers of SteriLid - not even free samples.

Related Topics:

• Caring for Your Contact Lens
• Dry Eyes

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