Update to one week using Wet Ones

Posted , 10 users are following.

After 6-7 weeks of using the Wet Ones, I am now down to just using them once a day at bed time. My eyes are the most comfortable they have been for a few years, and I can now watch tv, use computer/tablet or read as long as I want with no bad effects. Previously I was limited to about 45 mins to 1 hour before eyes would start to feel greasy and irritated.

However I have a confession to make.

After reading the comments from people in the UK regarding unavailability of Wet Ones containing Benzethonium Chloride, I examined my packet of Wet Ones and found that they actually contain Benzalkonium Chloride and not Benzethonium Chloride.

But they are still working for me.

I would therefore like to suggest that if you are in the UK, it may be worth your while to try the UK Wet Ones. The packet that I am using cost £1-80 from Tesco, and I am still using the same packet. I noticed improvements after about 3 days. It is surely worth trying them at this price, what have you to lose@ (apart from £1.80 :-}).

Another point that people have raised is reaction to using Wet Ones around the eyes. During the first day or two my eyes lids would tingle after application. However it was not unduly unpleasant or in any way painful or uncomfortable. This effect wore off very quickly. However I have fould that if I wipe around the eye area, (ie top of cheeks and side of head) with the wet ones, my skin sometimes reddens and this persists for several hours. Again this does not cause discomfort.

I hope my mistake has not caused any problems or inconvenience for anyone, next time I will examine the labelling more closely.

I hope the above helps somebody as Lynda79's report helped me.

Regards to you all

Honjon

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Edited

    Dear Honjon,

    This actually doesn't surprise me. I am going to put some info on here so others can be helped too.

    Benzalkonium chloride, also known as BZK, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride and ADBAC, is a cationic surface-acting agent belonging to the quaternary ammonium group.

    1.Benzethonium chloride is a synthetic quaternary ammonium salt. This compound is an odorless white solid; soluble in water. It has surfactant, antiseptic, and anti-infective properties, and it is used as a topical antimicrobial agent in first aid antiseptics.

    Quaternary ammonium compounds have also been shown to have antimicrobial activity.[6] Certain quaternary ammonium compounds, especially those containing long alkyl chains, are used as antimicrobials and disinfectants. Examples are benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, methylbenzethonium chloride, cetalkonium chloride, cetylpyridinium chloride,

    ,[7] quats act by disrupting the cell membrane.[citation needed] Quaternary ammonium compounds are lethal to a wide variety of organisms.

    Anyone can google this info. Benzethonium Chloride and Benzalkonium are both quaternary ammonium compounds. They have been shown to have antimicrobial activity.

    I appreciate that you have used this instead because now the options are so much greater for people if they are not allergic to ammonium salts.

    I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate you letting us all know about this and for taking the time to post about it to help others. You have done so much for people.

    Appreciate you so much more,

    Lynda79

  • Posted

    Hi

    Thanks for your message.

    I'm in the UK, bought a packet and read the ingredients {if that's the word lol} and then

    checked the posts again and decided not to use them

    You say what have you got to lose.....well not the money because they are bought already.

    lol

    Its just that it says "avoid contact with the eyes and sore or broken skin" The outside edges

    of my eyes are sore and underneath my eyes gets very dry. Those are the reasons I didn't

    use them when I discovered it didn't have the same contents as the original post

    .

    Be interested to see if anyone else has used them with Benzalkonium Chloride and the

    results.

    I would love to have the courage to try them

    Love

    Eileen/Hileena

  • Posted

    Dear Eileen,,

    Honjon used the ones with Benzalkonium Chloride. They are in the same family so to speak. Please read the post above from him. I posted too the info (short form) about the ingredients and how they are similar.

    You can look up The International Journal of Toxicology on Benzethonium Chloride and the other ones.

    If you look up that patent on Blepharitis it is patents us 3236730. In 1966. They used an ammonium salt product in an eye medicine. The trouble is we now realize (from personal experienced) that you don't have to put it in the eye to kill it.

    Hope this helps you out.

    Lynda79

  • Posted

    Hi Honjon

    I'm still using my Wet Ones but I've just been to see my GP and she has given me 2 types of Eye Drops. I'm really surprised to see they both contain the Benzalkonium Chloride! One is called Cromolux 2% and the other is Gel Tears and both can be bought on-line for around £5.

    It may be worth trying one of these. The Gel Tears is just used at bedtime.

    I will let you all know how I get on with them.

  • Posted

    Hi Bambicat, thanks for publishing the information regarding the eyedrops. The fact that they contain benzalkonium chloride seems to confirm what Lynda78 has been advocating.

    At the moment I am managing to keep clear of blepharitis by just wiping both inside and ouside the eyelash baseline before bedtime with the wet ones. A further benefit that I have noticed is that some of my eyelashes seem to be regaining their colour and they also look thicker and less matted. (I have checked this by taking close up photos with a small digital camera).

    Good luck with the eyedrops, please keep us informed of your progress.

    Best regards Honjon

  • Posted

    I had been told i had blepharities some time ago but I thought it was about the quality of the oils my eyes

    Secrete not an infection. I was told to take omega 3 fish oils and clean my lid margins to allow the oils to come out better.

  • Posted

    Dear Frendo,

    Honjon had the same oil problem as you do. Check all his posts to see if it will help you.

    Just be sure you are not allergic to any shampoos or detergents or fabric softners, if not, you can use the

    same thing he did. This is all about bacteria.

    All the things you talked about help dry eyes. I take fish oils too. You need to put eye drops in for lubrication if you have dry eyes. These are water and sold over the counter. Dry eyes don't wash bacteria out like normal eyes do.

    Hope you get relief soon.

    Lynda79

  • Posted

    Thank you Lynda. I was previously using Blephclean wipes but I dont think the had one the benz.. Chloride substances in them. Anyhow i have had to stop for a while as, probably due to the clogged glands, I deveoped inward growing eyelashes. Blepharitis can cause scarring to the inner part of the eyelid which causes the lid margin to turn inwards. Eyelashes start touching the cornea as they grow and it is very painful. Symptoms include eye watering and sensitivity to light. After about 3 years of plucking my eyelashes I was advised to do an operation to turn the eyelid margins out again. I am 5 weeks post op and am feeling much better. I am due to visit my doctor on Thursday and I will ask him if I can now start using the wipes, I will ask about Wet Ones. Before I had to do this operation I was using steam goggles for about 10minutes every day to get the oils moving.
    • Posted

      I think that this is my problem ,too. I have had bleph for a year...clogged oil glands is what my Dr. said. I believe that my upper  inner eye lid is facing down and in. I used to pluck the eyelashes in that area to get relief. I haven't plucked them in about 6 mos. Everyday, my eyes are sensitive to light, watery, and my vision is 

      off". How did your surgery go? Did you ever use the wipes?

  • Posted

    Hi everyone,

    I have been looking up some info on preservatives used in eye meds because of what Eileen mentioned to me. There was a new one called Purite. It is to disappear when contact is made with the eye but the info said "There is also some debate as to whether the "disappearing" action takes place as effectively on a very dry eye as on a healthy tear film"

    Good new! I found 2 products that do not have any preservatives in them. They are: REFRESH CELLUVISC and REFRESH PLUS.

    Now for the bad news.Now when looking this up I found that BAK (Benzalkonium Chloride) is used in most eye meds for a preservative.

    Here's aquote from the info: " BAK does an excellent job of inhibiting bacterial growth, but its detergent nature causes short- and long-term side effects.

    It brought out that using 2 meds (or eye drops for lubrication) are not good as increases the chance for problems. That it why I put this info out so that the eyedrops for lubrication do not have to have that in it.

    It is in the Steroid drugs too. Going to ask the Dr. if there are any others on the market that don't have it in it. My Dad uses steroids in his eyes.

    The point here is that in the eye over long periods of time it can do damage. Please google BAK and the others too.

    That is why it is so important to kill Blepharitis off in a few months and not put this inside your eyes for years. Why put it in your eye when you can just put it on the surface of the lashes and kill it as Honjon is doing.

    I hope this info helps as it worried me that so many use this for years.

    Thinking of all of you,

    Lynda79

    • Posted

      Hello Lynda,

      I realize the last post was over a year ago but I'm hoping to get a response from you as you seem to be the one with the most knowledge. I was recently diagnosed with Blepharitis by my eye doc. My symptoms are dry eyes, slight tearing at the corners, redness and 2 small divets along bottom eyelids, very slight crustiness in am, and dark red circles developing under eyes. I use Systane Ultra eye drops twice a day am and pm for moisture recommended by doc. Obviously, this has not done anything to get rid of the problem and in fact, it continues to worsen. I read about and tried castor oil and although my lashes seemed to grow, the bleph did not improve. My questions are, do my symptoms sound like they would benefit from the Wet Ones treatment, have you found or heard this treatment also gets rid of the dark circles under eyes, and have you heard if anyone having success with accupuncture for this condition?

      Thank you I advance for your input,

      Eloise

    • Posted

      Dear Eloise,

      I do not know anything about the dark circles. I used the US wipes as I had the itching kind of Blepharitis. My friend had the scaling and moving up onto her skin above the eyes. The wipes killed both of our Bleph. Mine seemed to be a Staph problem.

      There are many kinds of these wipes. I did use the US red ones that have .3% of the Benzethonium Chloride in them. The UK ones have Benzalkonium Chloride in them.

      One young lady let me know her lashes grew back in even after 20 years by using the wipes.

      I do not have Blepharitis any longer. I do have dry eyes and I do have Candida, though.

      I use preservative free eye drops for the dry eyes. I, also, use a throw away mascara wand each day. I used to use 2 of them, 1 for each eye but now only 1 on both as just taking precautions not to dip into the mascara and cause bacteria to grow.

      Just make sure you are not allergic to the items that were posted.

      Let me know if I did not cover everything.

      Yours,

      Lynda79

    • Posted

      Thanks so much Lynda!  In the last week, I started going to an acupuncturist who is addressing my Blepharitis along with some other chronic conditions. He said my Blepharitis was from Candida which doesn't surprise me because I've had several boughts with it. He said the dark circles would eventually go away. My symptoms worsened this past week and he said this was to be expected because a "healing crisis" was taking place. In the last few days symptoms have eased and I can already tell things are getting noticeably better. I'm cautiously optimistic!  After reading your post about Wet Ones and the numerous positive responses from others, I bought some and brought them to my doctor. He said absolutely to use them as well. So I've started with those yesterday. Thank you so much again for all your information and careful explanation on how to you the wipes, etc. Perhaps you should find an acupuncturist to help with your candida! That ca

      ndida is trouble and can cause many autoimmune problems. My best to you! Eloise

  • Posted

    I was just diagnosed with Occular Rosaces and blepharitis by opthamologist  .....was told to use lubricating tee drops and a wipe call Cliradex.  Has anyone heard of these wipes?

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