Effectiveness of Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Acute Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis Ophthalmology 2013 Sep 23;[EPub Ahead of Print], PS Bilkhu, JS Wolffsohn, SA Naroo, L Robertson, R Kennedy TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Results of a randomized, masked trial demonstrated a benefit in individuals with allergic conjunctivitis treated with artificial tears and cold compresses. Epinastine in combination with cold compresses actually provided the most improvement in the acute phase. Clearly, temperature plays a role in symptomatic relief. ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate whether artificial tears and cold compress alone or in combination provide a treatment benefit and whether they were as effective as or could enhance topical antiallergic medication. Design: Randomized, masked clinical trial. Participants: Eighteen subjects (mean age, 29.5±11.0 years) allergic to grass pollen. Intervention: Controlled exposure to grass pollen using an environmental chamber to stimulate an ocular allergic reaction followed by application of artificial tears (ATs), 5 minutes of cold compress (CC), ATs combined with CC, or no treatment applied at each separate visit in random order. A subset of 11 subjects also had epinastine hydrochloride (EH) applied alone and combined with CC in random order or instillation of a volume-matched saline control. Main Outcome Measures: Bulbar conjunctival hyperemia, ocular surface temperature, and ocular symptoms repeated before and every 10 minutes after treatment for 1 hour. Results: Bulbar conjunctival hyperemia and ocular symptoms decreased and temperature recovered to baseline faster with nonpharmaceutical treatments compared with no treatment (P
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:22:38 +0000
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