Cleaning the Eyelid for an Artificial Eye User

Did you know?

Artificial Eye users who experiences continuous discharge may find it beneficial to regularly clean their eyelids and Eyelashes

​What is the Eyelid?

The Eyelid is a thin fold of skin that is used to protect the Human Eye, as well as an Artificial Eye.

Aside from covering the Eyeball behind It, one of its many function is to hold our Eyelashes in place, which also protects our eyes by catching majority of the incoming dust and dirt.

Another importance of the Eyelid is that it's the location of the Meibomian gland, which also produces the Lipid(or Oil Layer) of our Tears. 

​Problems that may occur

A Rough Artificial Eye can cause many problem. Make sure to have it checked and polished yearly.

There are instances that our Eyelids may become inflamed(Blepharitis) or that our Meibomian Glands gets inflamed as well, causing our Eyelid to become Red and Swollen, sometimes even painful.
It may be caused by many things:

• Contaminated Makeup
• Rubbing eyelids with dirty finger
• Dirty Artificial Eye
• Rough Artificial Eye
• Any anything that can irritate the Eyelids, including the lashes.

---

What to do incase of Eyelid infection?

Photo of a Swollen Eyelid. The Inside and Outside of the Eyelid is very swollen that It's starting to expel the Prosthetic Eye

If you find that your Eyelid is already swollen, please do visit your Doctor to have it examined, as long term inflammation of the Eyelid may cause permanent damages to the Eyelids and the Eye Socket itself.

---

​Why Do we need to Clean our Eyelids?

A Patient wearing a rough Artificial Eye that experiences heavy discharge.

Once medication have started, cleaning your Eyelids and Eyelashes can be a good idea.
Done before the application of the medicines the your Doctor gave you, it can help prevent further infection of the eyelid.

This can also be done even without infection present, especially if you are a heavy makeup user, where you often apply some in your Eyelids/Eyelashes.

This is also important for Artificial Eye Users who experiences heavy mucus discharge, where the discharge reoccurs a few minutes after wiping their Eyelids.

---

​How to Clean you Eyelids/Eyelashes

Things you will need:

1. Clean Clothe / Facial Tissue / or Cotton Buds(Most Recommended)

1. Warm Water - This should help to soften and clean any dried up Oil in the Opening of the Oil Gland (Meibomian Gland) in the tip of your Eyelids.
2. No Tears Baby Shampoo
3. Clean Dry Clothe
4. Blephagel (Optional) - This is a very good option as it is designed for people who experiences Blepharitis, or Make up users with a history of recurring eyelid infection​

Steps(Baby Shampoo)

1. Start by washing your hands with soap for at least 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Damp the eyelid with the warm water by using the clothe/tissue cotton buds, for 3 minutes.
3. Apply the baby shampoo to 2 pieces of Cotton Buds and placing one tip of the Cotton bud at the top of the upper Eyelash, and one below the upper Eyelash and clean for 1 minute
4. Repeat process on lower Eyelash
5. Damp and Dry using 

Blephagel. A good cleaning solution for the eyelids. It's a gel like substance that you can use as a substitute for baby shampoo. No need to rinse water!

As indicated above, the Warm water should be able to soften any dried up Oil and Mucus which could cause more problem in the future if it were to clog the Meibomian Gland opening, which could lead to infection.

The Baby Shampoo is a good cleaning agent, but if you are able to get a hold of a Blephagel, it is a very good alternative as it's formulated for people with blepharitis(Inflammation of the Eyelid).

---