TOPLINE:

Individuals who practiced eye washing had significantly reduced ocular symptoms of hay fever and improved quality-of-life (QOL) associated with ocular allergies, according to a new study. The study found that those in the eye-washing group maintained milder symptoms over time with more symptom-free days.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a digital prospective observational cohort study using an in-house-developed smartphone application to collect extensive data on hay fever and to assess whether eye washing reduced allergic symptoms.
• They analyzed data of 476 participants (mean age, 42.4 years; 51.7% women) with hay fever at enrolment, of whom 71 practiced eye washing.
• Rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, nasal itching, sneezing, interference with daily life, eye itching, tearing, eye reddening, and ear and/or mouth itching were each scored on a four-point scale, with 0 indicating no symptoms and 3 indicating severe symptoms.

TAKEAWAY:

• The eye-washing group had milder symptoms than the non-eye-washing group, with significant differences in eye itching (adjusted coefficient, -0.851; P = .001), tearing (adjusted coefficient, -0.655; P = .022), and the ocular symptom score (adjusted coefficient, -0.840; P = .010).
• Eye washing was associated with lower scores for several hay fever-related QOL measures and lower total Japanese Allergic Conjunctival Disease Standard QOL Questionnaire score.
• The eye-washing group also had milder ocular symptoms over time, as well as more symptom-free days, than the non-eye-washing group.

IN PRACTICE:

“Our results indicate that eye washing was associated with adequate safety and potentially favorable clinical outcomes for patients with hay fever and chronic impairment of QoL, particularly during peak pollen seasons,” the researchers reported.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Ken Nagino, of the Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. It was published online on November 20, 2025, in Scientific Reports.

LIMITATIONS:

The study population was limited to smartphone users with hay fever in Japan. The study period focused on February to May when cedar pollen, the major allergen in Japan, peaked. This may affect result generalizability to populations allergic to different types of pollen. Participants were identified solely through self-reported hay fever status without confirmation by clinical diagnosis. Data on the frequency, duration, and type of eyewash use were not collected in this study.

DISCLOSURES:

This work was supported by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Institute for Environmental & Gen­der-Specific Medicine, Juntendo University, and other sources. Some authors reported receiving personal fees, grants, and nonfinancial support from various companies, and one author declared being the owner of the company that developed the app used in this study.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.