Baby shampoo—along with hot rice in a sock or baked potatoes—are effective for a warm compress, but eyecare practitioners are able to offer more in today’s market of lid cleansers and warming masks. There are a variety of lid hygiene products on the market. Each one offers different benefits. Here are four options.

Lid wipes offer a simple alternative to baby shampoo. Reasonable in cost and easy to find, pre-moistened wipes are designed specifically for use around the eyes. They are effective at removing debris and environmental impurities such as pollen. Unlike baby shampoo, these products are formulated to be beneficial to the eyes rather than harm them.

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Dr. Dexter's Take

Back in my days of optometry school (and for many, many years prior) we were often taught by our professors that baby shampoo is a viable recommendation for the treatment of blepharitis. I am hear to tell you that there are many other much better options that we can recommend to our patients! Even though many practitioners still recommend baby shampoo (because of relatively low cost and habit), they could actually be causing more irritation and harm than good. According to this article in Optometry Times, baby shampoo contains mild detergent due to children’s limited sebum production. However, baby shampoos also contain an abundance of other ingredients, some of which are benign and others that have proven to be potentially dangerous. 

Furthermore, this article describes 5 other more beneficial treatment options to help our patients struggling with blepharitis symptoms. These include lid wipes, hypochlorous acid solutions, tea tree oil formulations, in office procedures, and eyelid warming masks. I highly recommend starting to utilize these products over baby shampoo and you will find that the patients will be much happier, and their signs and symptoms will be under better control!

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