What is Rinsada?

Dry eyes and ocular allergies can be a frustrating and uncomfortable condition, affecting daily activities and overall quality of life. Fortunately, treatments are available, and one emerging option is Rinsada, a high pressured saline irrigation to flush out foreign bodies, allergens, and inflammatory mediators at the ocular surface.

How does it work?

Dry eye disorder can be caused by a multitude of different factors, a key one being inflammation to the meibomian glands; the glands that secrete an oily substance that coats the tears, thereby increasing their time on the eye. One such inflammatory marker found in the tears of individuals with dry eye disease is MMP-9. This substance causes inflammation. (2). Rinsada works by using a sterile saline solution to clear out these markers (2).

Allergens exposed to the ocular surface can ignite an acute allergic response. By using Rinsada,a high-pressured saline irrigator, it would clean the entire ocular surface,removing and flushing away any allergens causing symptoms of itchiness, redness, and irritation.

Efficacy?

Studies have shown that after being treated with Rinsada, there was a 72% drop in inflammatory marker MMP-9 after 3 hours of treatment (1). Later follow-up showed in 1/3 of patients, MMP-9 stayed reduced for 12 weeks after the procedure was performed (1).

Side effects?

Noted side effects are mild discomfort with the initial procedure.

Other Uses

Rinsada has a myriad of ocular uses that aren't just restricted to the treatment of dry eye disease and allergies. Think of Rinsada as a means to “reset the tear film.” These include but are not limited to:

• Removal of foreign bodies

• Difficulat soft contact lens removal, folded and tucked into the folds “fornix” of the eyelids

• Viral or bacterial infections

• Routine cleansing of the non-exposed eyelid folds

Conclusion

Overall, Rinsada proves to be a safe, fast, and effective method of reducing ocular inflammation and maintaining a healthy tear film with minimal to no side effects.

Citations:

1. Mayer, N., Kondapalli, S. S., Venkateswaran, N., & Saeed, H. N. (2024). The efficacy of an irrigating eyelid retractor-facilitated ocular rinse on MMP-9 expression and dry eye disease. Advances in Ophthalmology Practice and Research, 4(3), 142–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aopr.2024.05.002

Irrigating lid retractor. rinsada. (n.d.). https://www.rinsada.com/

Written by Midwestern Intern, Vinay Naidoo

Rinsada for Irritated, Itchy, Dry Eyes