Evaluation of SUMMIT BRUSH in Treatment of Blepharitis

Dry Eye Disease is a multifactorial disease that affects approximately 15-30 million people in the United States alone. it creates an enormous societal and economic burden, decreases productivity in our workplace, and significantly affects the quality of lives of the people affected by this disease. Appoximately 86% of Dry Eye Disease is caused by Blepharitis, a chronic inflammation of the eyelid margins. If left untreated, Blepharitis results in the obstruction and eventual loss of the glands responsible for a critical component of tear film production.

The standard of care in the treatment of Blepharitis is the use of self administered at home commercially available products such as eyelid foams, gels, and pre moistened pads. These products contain non abrasive cleansers designed to remove the buildup of biofilm and excess microorganisms on the lid margin. Although these products are helpful, they do have some limitations. Many patients still require more expensive in office procedures such as lid debridement with electro-mechanical exfoliation devices or other even more expensive procedures.

The scope of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new self administered disposable ocular brush used in conjunction with the most commonly prescribed commercially available eyelid cleanser. The investigators are looking to see if combining the microexfoliation provided by the brush with the eyelid cleanser is more effective at removing the eyelid debris (scurfs, collarettes, and demodex) than the cleanser alone.

Hypothesis: The Summit Ocular Brush used in conjunction with Ocusoft Original lid cleanser is more effective than the cleanser alone at removing the debris (scurfs, collarettes, and demodex) from the eyelids in the treatment and management of Blepharitis.

The investigators want to determine if the addition of the ocular brush with the eyelid cleanser has synergistic effects on reducing the signs and symptoms of Blepharitis and Dry Eye Disease. They also hope to learn that with this additional step, further and more expensive procedures could be avoided thereby decreasing the overall economic burden on the patient and society as a whole.