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RESEARCH PAPER
Impact of cosmetic products on epiphora and ocular health in female patients – a cross-sectional study
Asra Warees 1, A-B
,
 
Afreen Abbas 1, A-B
,
 
Ilma Muqeem 1, B-C
,
 
,
 
,
 
,
 
Mohd Faizan 2, C,E
,
 
Mohd Faraz 3, D-E
,
 
Kashif Abbas 4, E-F
,
 
Mudassir Alam 5, E-F
 
 
 
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1
Department of Ophthalmology, J.N. Medical College, Paramedical College, Faculty of Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
 
2
Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
 
3
Department of Radiodiagnosis, J.N. Medical College, Paramedical College, Faculty of Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
 
4
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
 
5
Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Biological Sciences and Research Institute (IBRI), Noida, India
 
 
A - Research concept and design; B - Collection and/or assembly of data; C - Data analysis and interpretation; D - Writing the article; E - Critical revision of the article; F - Final approval of article
 
 
Submission date: 2026-03-03
 
 
Acceptance date: 2026-04-20
 
 
Publication date: 2026-08-28
 
 
Corresponding author
Mudassir Alam   

Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Biological Sciences and Research Institute, IBRI, Noida, India
 
 
Ophthalmology 2026;29(2):29-34
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study evaluates the effect of cosmetic use on ocular health and the frequency of epiphora symptoms in female patients. Method: This cross-sectional study included 206 female patients who visited the Department of Ophthalmology at J.N. Medical College and Hospital, AMU, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were collected using a proforma, which consisted of age, gender, occupation, address, patient’s history, nature, and duration of epiphora. All patients underwent regurgitation on pressure over the lacrimal sac (ROPLAS) test and lacrimal syringing. The analysis was performed using RStudio version 4.3.3 and Python version Jupyter Notebook. Results: The chi-square test of independence was conducted to examine the association between cosmetic use and ROPLAS – chi-square statistic (χ²): 8.33 with degree of freedom (df):1 and p-value = 0.0039. Although cosmetic use and the type of discharge (watery vs. mucous) revealed (χ²): 8.641 with (df):1 and p-value 0.0033. Patients who use cosmetics appear more likely to report watery discharge compared to non-users. Similarly, for cosmetic use and tearing pattern (occasionally vs. continuous) shown – (χ²): 11.2043 with (df):1 and p-value 0.0008, which is a highly significant result. However, there is no statistically significant association between cosmetic use and the other six symptoms, including pain, burning, blurred vision, redness, gritty sensation, and itching. Conclusions: Statistical analysis revealed that cosmetic use does not significantly aggravate epiphora severity or associated inflammatory symptoms, but it does influence the pattern and nature of tearing, which suggest the functional and irritation rather than obstructive mechanism.
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ISSN:1505-2753
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