Eye Wash Solution or Just Tap Water?

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When you come to set up your emergency eye wash station in order to protect the sight of your employees, apart from considering which particular system is best for you, it is also very important to think about exactly which kind of liquid you are going to use. While many users rely only on water to wash foreign objects and chemicals from the eyes of an accident victim, plenty of evidence points towards special eye wash solution providing a much better result.

Unlike water which is pH neutral, eye wash solutions are formulated to match the slightly acid status of the eye. Like the rest of the body, the tears of a person have a slightly acid pH value in their natural state. By balancing the eye wash solution against this figure, it is more attuned to the body’s needs. The solution is able to enhance the action of the tears in flushing the eye, and will work in harmony with the body’s own natural defenses, rather than causing additional physical stress. The eyes are very sensitive, and can be easily harmed. While washing away the contaminant, it is wise to use something that is as close to the body’s own natural systems as possible, and this is where saline that has been specially formulated to match the pH of tears is perfect.

The results of a number of medical tests that have been carried out in the last few years to examine the efficacy of eye wash solutions compared to plain water were remarkable. A test that was done by the ophthalmology team at Louisiana State University found that when eyes were flushed using ordinary tap water, the top 3 layers of the corneal epithelial (the protective layer that covers the delicate areas of the eye) were damaged when tap water was used to flush the eye. When a pH balanced buffered saline eye wash solution was used, the damage was minimized. The additional damage caused by the water could jeopardize the healing process, and certainly resulted in a longer time passing before the damage was completely healed.

Although water that is delivered through the mains system is clean enough to drink, and is treated by the water company to ensure that there are a minimum number of contaminants in it; there are still many things present. Unlike eye wash solution that is carefully prepared to exacting standards, tap water is not pure. Aside from traces of the chemicals such as chlorine that are added to the water to kill off the majority of the bacteria that naturally occur in it, the water will also pick up chemicals from the pipes that it flows along, so that by the time it arrives in your building it will be a veritable soup of different things. Even the time that water spends resting in the pipes will allow for a number of bacterial colonies to spread in the water, and impair its purity.

Unlike in specially treated eye wash solution, the presence of some bacteria in regular tap water that is used to flush the damaged eye when the outer layers of the organ are compromised can cause infections to develop. From the point of view of most eye specialists, it is often these secondary infections that can happen while the initial damage was being treated that cause serious long term problems including possible blindness.

Aside from the natural salts that are present in eye wash solution to bring it into balance with the body’s natural defenses, there are several other chemicals included within the liquid that are intended to add further protection and serve to improve the healing process. In order to counter the action of any of the bacteria and other fungal contaminants that may be found in the water it is added to, the eye wash solution contains several pesticides and bactericides that are clinically proven to reduce the rates of infection that affect the eyes after treatment. The effect of these chemicals is enhanced by special preservatives, which ensure that they continue to retain their power over a long period so that the efficiency of the eye wash solution is not impaired during the period when it is standing waiting for use.

Thanks to its gentler action and the fact that it is able to remove many of the impurities and germs that cause infection from mains water, using eye wash solution in your emergency eye flushing equipment is an essential way of protecting the health of your staff in the long term.