Oculocin Propo For Dry Eye

Australia’s Dry Eye Centre of Excellence

Oculocin Propo for Dry Eye

Summary

A “Natural” eye-drop for reducing bacteria and inflammation in dry eye
Active ingredients: Propolis, Aloe Vera, Chamomilla
Active agents: Phenols, Aloins & Emodins
Preservative free
Safe for long term use; no antibiotics, no stinging, no known side effects

Detailed Review

OCULOCIN PROPO is an eye drop designed to relieve and treat the symptoms of conjunctivitis and dry eye. It’s active ingredients are derived from bee and plant extracts and chosen for their established clinical effects in reducing the bacteria load and inflammation. The active ingredients reportedly act on the ocular surface safely and with no sting or known side effects. Propolis is a resin-like substance found in and transported from various plant sources by bees to their hives. It is used in the hive to seal open spaces in the beeswax. It also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. Aloe Vera and Chamomile are plant based anti-inflammatories. Whilst these three active ingredients have not been extensively studied together for their effects on ocular infection and inflammation, they have all been independently identified as safe and effective for their general purposes described.

One study on the effectiveness of Oculocin, gives us a glimpse of the potential of this eye drop [1]. Firstly, Oculocin is not a lubricant. It is intended to treat two of the root causes of dry eyes; inflammation and infection. In the presence of “conjunctivitis” the author found that 90% of patients treated with Oculocin (qid) (compared with only 20% of controls) improved and did not require further treatment. In patients with “bacterial conjunctivitis”, eight of nine patients were successfully treated with Oculocin alone, compared with nine of ten patients who were successfully treated with conventional antibiotics alone. Finally, in patients with “chronic conjunctivitis” treated with steroids (NSAIDS or SAIDS), seven of seven patients improved at week 1, compared with only four of seven and then five of seven at weeks 2 and 5 respectively. In comparison, for ten patients treated with Oculocin, five improved at week 1, six at week 2 and seven at week 3 [1].

Should I use Oculocin Propo?

The marketers of Oculocin advise that it has no known side effects. Precautions/contraindications would include any patient with known allergy or sensitivity to any of the ingredients. It is not possible with the limited data to conclude whether Oculocin is effective. Nor is it possible to conclude the type(s) of dry eye for which it may be most effective. However, dry eye is an inflammatory disease and we need anti-inflammatory products which are safe for long term use to combat that inflammation. The Dry Eye Centre has extensive experience with Oculocin. To date we have found it to be very effective in mild disease, and a good adjunct therapy in moderate and severe disease.