Real Patients, Real Stories: How BIHOCL O.D. Transformed Adrienne’s Eyegiene Routine

Author Ryan Hanes

Published Nov 27, 2024

Real Patients, Real Stories highlights individuals who have benefited from using BIHOCL O.D., a hypochlorous acid (HOCl) based ocular health product. This series explores how patients improved their eye, lid, and lash health with one simple change to their daily eyegiene routine.

Real Patients, Real Stories is a new Biomiq blog series focused on highlighting the personal journeys of individuals who have experienced remarkable benefits from incorporating BIHOCL O.D., a hypochlorous acid (HOCl) based ocular health product, into their everyday routines. In today’s blog post, we highlight Adrienne’s story incorporating BIHOCL O.D. into her every day eyegiene routine, and ask her a few questions about how the BIHOCL O.D. product has been a game changer for her eye, lid, and lash health!

**Before we get started, let’s talk eyegiene.**

Eye hygiene (or sometimes referred to as eyegiene) refers to the practice of maintaining cleanliness and health of the eyes to prevent infections, discomfort, and vision problems. This involves regular and gentle cleaning of the eyelids and lashes, proper handling and cleaning of contact lenses, avoiding touching the eyes with unwashed hands, and ensuring a clean environment to reduce the risk of contaminants.

Eyegiene is essential for overall eye health, especially for individuals prone to eye conditions or those recovering from eye surgeries.

Adrienne’s Story

**Q: What did eyegiene mean to you before using BIHOCL O.D.?**

A: I’ve worn glasses and contacts most of my life, so I’ve always understood the importance of regular vision tests and ensuring cleanliness when handling my contact lenses. I’ve also always been diligent about the hygiene of my eyes when it comes to cosmetic products—making sure not to share these products with others, tossing out expired products, and making sure to remove my eye makeup at night with a gentle eye makeup remover before cleansing my face. Looking back, I realize these steps were important but I could’ve been doing a little more!

Ensuring you don’t share eye makeup products, removing expired cosmetics from your daily routine, and removing eye makeup before bed may seem like simple steps but these existing practices in Adrienne’s eyegiene routine are integral to promoting healthy eyes, eyelids, and eyelashes. Existing clinical literature¹⁻⁴ demonstrates that eye makeup products can harbour bacteria, leading to infection and worsening existing inflammatory eye conditions, such as dry eye disease.

Q: How did you learn about BIHOCL O.D.?

A: I’ve generally been a big fan of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in skincare, so when I saw the product while picking up my prescription lenses I immediately wanted to know more! While I didn’t have any pressing concerns about my eye health, maybe some occasional dryness or irritation from my contacts, I knew HOCl was so beneficial to the skin, so I wanted to try incorporating it into my daily routine for my eyes.

HOCl isn’t just a powerhouse when it comes to ocular health. As Adrienne rightly alluded to, HOCl has gained significant traction in dermatological applications for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties⁵.

Q: When and how do you use BIHOCL O.D. in your daily hygiene routine?

A: Right when I wake up, I generally wash my face. With the addition of BIHOCL O.D., I now also spray my eyelid area, spray a cotton round, and then gently wipe across my lash line. I tend to leave my eyes wet with HOCl and let the product go to work while I have my morning coffee. When it’s dry I put in my contact lenses.

I also look forward to the routine at night! After I take my contact lenses out and cleanse my skin, I repeat the same steps. It’s a really easy process for me. I’ve never been a fan of applying drops or anything like that, but I think about this product like a toner for my lids and eyelashes.

Did you know that one study⁶ found that topical application of HOCl on the ocular surface resulted in a 99% reduction in the staphylococcal load on the surface of the skin 20 minutes following application? That means you can drink your morning coffee while being confident your eyegiene routine is hard at work, doing it’s job!

Q: Have you had any eye opening realizations since incorporating BIHOCL O.D. into your everyday routine?

A: Absolutely. Since I’ve started using BIHOCL O.D. I’ve generally noticed my eyes feel a lot less irritated throughout the day which is a blessing as a contact lens wearer, especially during the spring and summer when allergens can get pretty bad. But the biggest and most noticeable improvement for me has been in the mornings—my eyes used to be extremely sensitive and red in the morning and I would notice some residue along my lash line when I would wake up.

I had always thought this kind of irritation was normal, like when they say you have ‘sleep’ in your eyes! But the eye opening moment for me came when I realized that by using BIHOCL O.D., my irritated eyes and crusting along the lash line doesn’t have to be apart of my mornings!

Optometrist using BIHOCL O.D. on a patient in-clinic

Final Thoughts

We’d like to thank Adrienne for taking the time to share her experience with BIHOCL O.D. with us.

Hearing about Adrienne’s story makes it clear that you don’t need to have a set of specific concerns to benefit from incorporating pure, stable hypochlorous acid (HOCl) like BIHOCL O.D. into your eyegiene routine. If you are an eye care professional, this may inspire you to expand your discussions with patients to include incorporating the product into daily life rather than waiting until a specific condition is presented at their next eye exam.

To learn more about hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and its incredible impact on ocular hygiene, there’s lots more to read in our related educational blogs, such as Three Reasons Why Optometrists Are Loving Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) or 5 Considerations for The Ideal At-Home Eyegiene Routine. To learn more about BIHOCL O.D., or for eye care professionals to get started with purchasing the product, visit our product page.

References

Whitcombe, U. (2017). The effect of makeup on contact lens wear (Doctoral dissertation, Aston University).
Dimri, A. G., Singh, D., Chatterjee, R., Chaudhary, S., & Aggarwal, M. L. (2016). Evaluation of Microbial Contamination of Eye Makeup Product: Mascara. J. Biomed. Pharm. Res, 5(6), 95-103.
Yazdani, M., Elgstøen, K. B. P., & Utheim, T. P. (2022). Eye make-up products and dry eye disease: a mini review. Current Eye Research, 47(1), 1-11.
Sullivan, D. A., da Costa, A. X., Del Duca, E., Doll, T., Grupcheva, C. N., Lazreg, S., ... & Markoulli, M. (2023). TFOS Lifestyle: Impact of cosmetics on the ocular surface. The Ocular Surface, 29, 77-130.
Gold, M. H., Andriessen, A., Bhatia, A. C., Bitter Jr, P., Chilukuri, S., Cohen, J. L., & Robb, C. W. (2020). Topical stabilized hypochlorous acid: The future gold standard for wound care and scar management in dermatologic and plastic surgery procedures. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 19(2), 270-277.
Stroman, D. W., Mintun, K., Epstein, A. B., Brimer, C. M., Patel, C. R., Branch, J. D., & Najafi-Tagol, K. (2017). Reduction in bacterial load using hypochlorous acid hygiene solution on ocular skin. Clinical Ophthalmology, 707-714.