Our team’s heart & thoughts go out to all those Canadians living in the regions affected by wildfires.
Even though they might not be near, the effects from a wildfire can still be felt, seen, and smelt.
With the early onset of wildfire season, decreased air quality could leave your eyes feeling like allergy season never left. Symptoms affecting the eyes such as itching, redness, burning, and watery eyes can all be caused by smoky air conditions. [1]
How Does Wildfire Smoke Affect the Eyes?
The smoke from wildfire is essentially a cocktail of pollutants. The ashes, dust and other particulates (i.e., tiny particles of solids or liquids) from wildfire are harmful and may irritate our eyes. Symptoms affecting the eyes may present as burning, tearing, stinging sensations – which are also common allergy and inflammatory symptoms that may bring great discomfort to our eyes.
The particulates from wildfire smoke are potent that they can induce such symptoms in people without dry eyes. In those who are already suffering from dry eyes and allergic conjunctivitis, the wildfire smoke may worsen the symptoms.
As recommended by the American Academy of Ophthalmology [2], over-the-counter artificial tears may be a simple way to relieve irritated eyes due to smoke exposure. In particular, if your eyes are experiencing allergy and inflammatory symptoms due to the wildfire, HYLO-Dual® and HYLO Dual Intense™ lubricating eye drops may help you find relief from smoke & eye irritation.
How Can HYLO-Dual® and HYLO Dual Intense™ Help Those Affected by Wildfire?
HYLO-Dual® and HYLO Dual Intense™ lubricating eye drops both contain ectoine, a natural substance that helps to relieve allergy and inflammatory symptoms [3, 4].
Ectoine is naturally released by microorganisms that live in extreme environments. This molecule likes to bind to water and form a complex (i.e., ectoine-water complex) that protects neighbouring molecules and membranes. By doing so, ectoine not only provides protection against allergens, but also stabilizes the tear film to prevent excessive tear evaporation [3, 4]. As a result, ectoine alleviates allergies and inflammatory symptoms of the eyes, such as symptoms related to wildfire smoke, ashes and other environmental conditions.
HYLO-Dual® combines the power of ectoine with sodium hyaluronate for long-lasting dry eye relief, making it an all-round drop for dry eye and allergy relief. For more severe chronic dry eye and inflammatory symptoms, HYLO Dual Intense™ contains ectoine and a higher concentration of sodium hyaluronate, for long-lasting relief and fewer daily applications.
The entire HYLO® family of lubricating eye drops come in the easy-to-use German-engineered HYLO® application system that delivers guaranteed 300 sterile doses – one drop at a time. This keeps the eye drops preservative-free and phosphate-free to provide greater comfort without worsening allergy and inflammatory symptoms caused by wildfire smoke.
CandorVision has proudly served safe, innovative, and the highest quality lubricating eye drops to Canadians for 10 years. We hope that our HYLO-Dual® and HYLO Dual Intense™ eye drops can further elevate eye health care for those affected by the wildfire.
For more information or any urgent medical assistance from smoke and eye injury, please seek medical attention and contact an eye health specialist.
References
Protecting your health from wildfire smoke [Internet]. Canada.ca. [updated 2023 May 12; cited 2023 May 17]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-quality-health-index/wildfire-smoke/wildfire-smoke-health.html#toc0
How to cope when smoke gets in your eyes [Internet]. American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2020 [cited 2023 May 17]. Available from: https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/what-to-do-when-smoke-gets-in-your-eyes
Bownik A, Stępniewska Z. Ectoine as a promising protective agent in humans and animals. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. 2016 Dec 1;67(4):260-265. doi: 10.1515/aiht-2016-67-2837. PMID: 28033102.
Harishchandra RK, Wulff S, Lentzen G, Neuhaus T, Galla HJ. The effect of compatible solute ectoines on the structural organization of lipid monolayer and bilayer membranes. Biophys Chem. 2010 Aug;150(1-3):37-46. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2010.02.007. Epub 2010 Feb 11. PMID: 20206435.