We tend to take our eyes for granted.
I recently had an eye infection. Not the first time this has happened - I used to wear contacts, and if you wear contacts, you can get an eye infection very easily. Eventually, I developed a sensitivity to contact lenses - which is typical. I had the all-day disposables and by the end of the day, my eyes were itchy. Pretty soon, it was a half-day before I had to take them out. Then a few hours and then down to an hour and, well, I gave up on contacts at that point.
So I wasn't too alarmed when my left eye got red, as usually such situations sort themselves out within a day or two. But after a few days, it got worse, and we were going away for New Year's Eve. So I found an Ophthalmologist who was open early. He prescribed an antibiotic and some eye drops (I think with a steroid or something) and in a few days, I was back to normal.
While waiting for his office to open, I had visited the nearby pharmacy looking for over-the-counter solutions. Alas, there are none - only eye drops for "dry eyes" or to "get the red out" or fatally poison someone. One product stood out to me, and that was "eyelid wipes." WTF?
I asked the doctor about this and he suggested using them to control eyelash mites. You no doubt have read that our bodies are hosts to a number of parasites, besides the bacterias in our digestive system that help break down long-chain sugar molecules. Tiny mites - or lice as the doctor called them (Eeew!) live in our hair follicles, eating dead skin cells and facial oils. It is quite a feast, too, as we shed billions of dead skin cells a day. Where do you think "dust" comes from? Yea, it is us, shedding like snakes.
And apparently, we all have these mites living in our eyelashes. Everybody, just about.
Anyway, he recommended using these eyelid wipes, preferably with teatree oil, which he claims will kill off the mites or at least control their growth. I am not sure there is science behind this, but he argues that these mites can cause inflammation which can lead to eye infections or at least eye irritation.
Anyway, I ordered a year's supply on Amazon, and they seem to help. At least they smell nice. Maybe it is psychological, but the idea of killing little creepy-crawlies on my eyelashes appeals to me. I suspect, however, that since these buggers are on nearly everyone's face, that the wipes will, at best, merely keep the population in check.
The human body is a fascinating thing. Too bad it didn't come with an owner's manual!
