How Long After Cataract Surgery Can You Wear Eye Makeup

EyeConnect: eyeCONNECTIONS
December 2009

past J. E. "Jay" McDonald II, M.D.

Physicians debate hazard

The use of makeup is important to many of our patients. I have noticed it to be one of the first questions many patients inquire. Knowing the majority of endophthalmitis cases arise from lid bacteria, makeup usage after surgery is non a modest consideration. You may be interested to see how some of your colleagues deal with this result and a few other post-op restrictions.

Is in that location whatsoever reason to restrict the use of middle makeup post-obit microincisional cataract surgery? What do the members of this grouping suggest to their patients regarding this? No restrictions? One day? One week?

Jeffrey Horn, M.D.
Nashville

I don't know of any studies to support this, simply I accept them stop when starting pre-op drops. They can resume usage after one calendar week. Why add to the bacterial load?

Jon-Marc Weston, 1000.D.
Roseburg, Ore.

I tell the patients no eye makeup for a calendar week postal service-op. My goal is to reduce the chances of the patient causing some minor irritation or scrape, particularly from mascara or eyeliner, and the resultant worry and phone call, which takes up our time at the role. I suppose if the patient was a news anchor or actress, I would bend the rules.

Michael Kutryb, M.D.
Titusville, Fla.

I identify no restrictions any on makeup afterwards the first 24-hour interval, but this raises another issue. Virtually everyone I know places action restrictions on their patients, particularly weight lifting. I tell patients they can exercise anything they desire "brusque of bungee jumping," but if I size upwards the situation, I tell the men who do lifting at work to non elevator over xl pounds for a week. Is it actually necessary to restrict activity, even lifting 100 pounds, with microincisional surgery? Or are nosotros merely trying to cover ourselves with these restrictions?

Mitchell Gossman, M.D.
St. Cloud, Minn.

Forty pounds for one patient may be a piece of cake or an incommunicable dream. I tell patients every bit long as they practise non shut their mouth and grunt, they may resume activities or weight lifting. They seem to understand this, and it is the valsalva maneuver with increased IOP that I am concerned about.

J. E. "Jay" McDonald, M.D.
Fayetteville, Ark.

My point is that a properly constructed incision should go stronger with a higher IOP and remain secure (a tautological definition, I sympathise that). So afterwards mean solar day ane, if the incision looks normal, I see little bespeak in restrictions. I take no doubt that patients generate impressive IOPs transiently with bowel movements, sexual activity, eye rubbing, lifting, and so on. Information technology's a miracle that we don't see flat chambers and entrapped IOLs routinely with all the eye rubbing going on. From what I have seen reentering articulate corneal incisions months later, there is little healing going on.

Of course, a brake of no lifting greater than 40 pounds is free to the surgeon but might be a hindrance to some patients, and needlessly then.

Mitchell Gossman, One thousand.D.

If my patients receive a monofocal or toric IOL or a ReStor (Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas)/Tecnis (Abbott Medical Eyes, AMO, Santa Ana, Calif.), etc., I don't place restrictions on them. I ask them to wear a shield at nighttime for several nights. If they specifically say they lift heavy weights, such as at the gym, I ask them to concur off for a week or then. However, I am much more than cautious with those who receive a Crystalens (Bausch & Lomb, Aliso Viejo, Calif.) for fright the lens may vault and stay vaulted. Are others restricting their Crystalens patients more than those who receive other IOLs?

Jeffrey Horn, M.D.

Our patients are instructed to

Discontinue eye makeup ane week earlier whatever eye surgery.
Use Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent ("the one that is a articulate liquid in a blue canteen") to remove it initially.
Follow with daily warm compresses and hat scrubs till day of surgery, using Ocusoft Plus (Cyancon/Ocusoft, Rosenberg, Texis) or SteriLid (Advanced Vision Research, Woburn, Mass.), preferably the cream rather than the individual towelettes.

Years ago, Marguerite McDonald (Yard.D., Rockville Eye, North.Y.) told me that a resident of hers did a project comparison efficacy of various center makeup removers and that the Clinique production removed eye makeup more completely than competing products or eyelid scrubs with infant shampoo. I usually signal out to patients who balk at stopping center makeup that they really do non want makeup particles under the LASIK flap or inside the eye. Later on surgery, I recommend no eye makeup for two weeks, the same interval as for using topical antibiotic and wearing a shield at bedtime. Whatever nonsurgical patient in whom nosotros find corrective debris in the tear movie is instructed to be sure that her (information technology is ordinarily, just not e'er, a female patient) mascara does non promise to lengthen or thicken lashes, as products that exercise and so contain fibers that flake off and fall into the tear film. Many companies, including Neutrogena and Clinique, offer a "gel mascara." Patients are likewise cautioned not to use cosmetics, peculiarly eyeliner, across the mucocutaneous junction of the hat margin. We tell them, "Utilize to your skin simply, non inside beyond the lashes." We also recommend that they close their eyes when applying loose face up pulverization. Patients generally are pleased to accept their persistent foreign body sensation cured.

Anita Nevyas-Wallace, 1000.D.
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

I use atropine at the terminate of surgery, and on day five, if the educatee reacts, I add another drop. My only brake is no reading without readers for two weeks. Nosotros give them the readers afterwards surgery.

Ray Oyakawa, Yard.D.
Torrance Calif.

Contact data

Horn: Jeff.Horn@bestvisionforlife.com
Gossman:mgossman@esppa.com
Nevyas-Wallace: anevyaswallace@comcast.cyberspace
Oyakawa: RTOyakawa@svcmd.com
Weston: drw@westoneyecenter.com

Nigh the author

J.E. "Jay" McDonald Ii, M.D., is the EyeMail editor. He is director of McDonald Eye Assembly, Fayetteville, Ark. Contact him at 479-521-2555 or mcdonaldje@mcdonaldeye.com