AEROBIC MICROFLORA OF THE EYE Table III Aerobic Micro flora of the Upper Eyelid Margin 87 Subject APC a Organisms Isolated 1 JD 215 S. epidermidis 2 DA 850 S. epidermidis 3 CA 4,700 S. epidermidis 4 BL 13,000 S. epidermidis 5 MS 50 S. epidermidis 6 RAB 440 S. epidermidis 7 RB 330 S. epidermidis 8 MK 1,330 S. epidermidis 9 JG 230 S. epidermidis 10 MR 90,000 S. epidermidis 11 JM 80,000 S. epidermidis 12 JK 25,000 S. epidermidis 13 PM 16,000 S. epidermidis 14 JL 600 S. epidermidis 15 DH 650 S. epidermidis 16 CN 1,300 S. epidermidis 17 LB 1,300 S. epidermidis 18 BB 4,700 S. epidermidis 19 PJ 2,000 S. epidermidis 20 JP 6,000 S. epidermidis 21 RN 20,000 S. diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids M. fiavus •' diphtheroids S. aureus diphtheroids Bacillus sp. diphtheroids S. aureus' diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids diphtheroids epidermidis diphtheroids Bacillus sp. S. aureus M. fiavus A. anitratus* Aspergillus sp. M. fiavus M. fiavus Klebsiella A. anitratus Bacillus sp. S. aureus S. aureus M. fiavus Sarcina Aspergillus sp. '•Aerobic plate count per swab. b M icrococcus flavus. " Acinetobacter antitratus. plied a facial cleanser containing 2% sulphur and 1.5% salicylic acid daily before applying her make-up. P. aeruginosa was recovered from the eyebrow and upper eyelid of subject 22 on each sampling. Since this microorganism is not a usual resident of the human facial flora, we continued swabbing this subject twice weekly for two months expanding our testing to the cheek, forehead, and hands. P. aerugino- sa was found on all of the areas sampled. Examination of her cosmetics showed them to be free from P. aeruginosa. DISCUSSION In the first study of 21 male and female subjects, three eye areas were swabbed to determine the number and types of aerobic microorganisms one niight expect to find on the orbital area. Although aware that anaerobic micro- organisms outnumber the aerobic flora on the human skin (8, 9), we confined this study to aerobes since they have been most frequently isolated from some cosmetics. Because the Los Angeles climate is temperate and dry, we had not

88 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS Table IV Aerobic Microflora of the Lower Eyelid Margin Subject APC • Organis•ns Isolated 1 JD 225 S. epidermidis 2 DA 8,100 S. epidermidi, s' diphtheroids 3 CA 5,900 S. epidermidi, s' diphtheroids M. flavus ø 4 BL 55,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids S. aureus 5 MS 30 S. epidermidis • RAB 1,060 S. epidermidis diphtheroids Bacillus sp. 7 RB 150 S. epidermidis diphtheroids 8 MK 1,375 S. epidermidis diphtheroids S. aureus 9 JG 60 S. epidermidis 10 MR 60,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids M. flavus 11 JM 70,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids S. aureus 12 JK 24,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids M. flavus A. anitratus c 13 PM %000 S. epidermidi, s. diphtheroids 14 JL 1,000 S. epidermidis Aspergillus sp. 15 DH 8,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids M. flavus Bacillus sp. 16 CN 25,000 S. epidermidi, s. diphtheroids M. flavus Bacillus sp. 17 LB 2,500 S. epidermidis diphtheroids Klebsiella A. anitratus iS BB 1,600 S. epidermidi, s. diphtheroids Bacillus sp. A. anitratus 19 PJ 15,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids S. aureus oe0 JP 10,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids S. aureus M. flavus 2l RN 70,000 S. epidermidis diphtheroids Bacillus sp. Sarcina Aspergillus sp. Paecilomyces '•Aerobic plate count per swab. " M icr o coccus fiavus. CAcinetobacter anitratus. expected to encounter a large variety of yeasts and molds. Results substantiate this expectation since fungi were recovered in low numbers from only two subjects. In contrast, Wilson et al. (10) recovered numerous species of yeast and fungi from the eyes of 29 of 138 women in Atlanta, Georgia. Geographical location is probably an important factor when evaluating normal facial flora. The number of microorganisms recovered varied greatly between sub- jects but the number of microbes recovered from the three eye areas of each individual was fairly consistent. Hygiene and the inherent proper- ties of a person's skin most probably would have an effect on their microbial population and should be taken into consideration when evaluating norma] flora. A person with dry skin or one xvho laboriously scrubs the facia] area would not be expected to maintain as great a microbial population as someone with oily skin practicing ]ess rigorous cleansing habits. Normal flora may be defined as those organisms which are consistent- ly recovered from the individuals tested (8). In this study, S. epidermidis and diphtheroids may be considered normal flora. But S. aureus and