Where It Started
From an ICU in New York City to your bedside.
What started as a solution for the sickest ICU patients has now become a simple way to help everyday people protect their eyes while they sleep.
OKO began in the ICU during COVID in New York City.
As a board-certified corneal transplant surgeon, Dr. Christopher S. Sales, MD, MPH treated a patient whose life was saved on a ventilator, but whose eyes were permanently damaged because they couldn’t fully close while she was critically ill. It’s a common problem in intensive care, especially when patients are sedated or medically paralyzed. In her case, the damage was severe enough to require corneal transplant surgery to restore vision.
That experience stayed with Dr. Sales.
He knew there had to be a better way to protect the eyes of vulnerable patients when the eyelids can’t do the job on their own.
During the peak of COVID, with hospitals overwhelmed and ICU teams working nonstop, Dr. Sales created an improvised eye-protection system using materials available in nearly every hospital. It worked, but it wasn’t designed for comfort, and it wasn’t something people could realistically use at home.
That became the turning point.
Dr. Sales also knew from years of treating thousands of corneal and dry eye patients that this problem wasn’t limited to the ICU. Many people wake up with burning, gritty, irritated eyes due to nighttime exposure, often without realizing their eyes may be partially open while they sleep.
The challenge was clear: ICU solutions relied on harsh adhesives that were effective, but painful and impractical for everyday use.
So Dr. Sales returned to his roots at Stanford to build a team of engineers, material experts, and experienced product developers to create something better—something strong enough for the most demanding medical environments, yet gentle enough for nightly home use.
That’s how OKO was born.
Why OKO?
Most overnight eye care options are uncomfortable or unreliable—tapes, ointments, goggles, and makeshift solutions that weren’t designed for real sleep.
OKO is different.
OKO is a premium hydrogel eye shield designed to stay on comfortably overnight, helping protect and hydrate your eyes while you sleep, and peel off painlessly in the morning.
Hospital-Inspired Design
Built on the same protective principles used in critical care.
Stays On All Night
Secure hydrogel fit without messy tape or residue.
Cooling, Soothing Comfort
Hypoallergenic material that feels gentle on your skin and eyelashes.
Doctor-Developed
Created by a corneal transplant surgeon who also suffers from dry eye himself.
Our Mission
We believe everyone deserves to wake up with clear, comfortable eyes.
OKO exists to bring the level of protection once reserved for hospitals into a simple product you can use at home, so you can sleep better and wake up without irritation, burning, or morning eye pain.
Whether you struggle with nighttime eye exposure, chronic dry eye, CPAP-related dryness, or simply want better overnight comfort, OKO is here to help.
Get in Touch
Have questions? We’d love to hear from you.
Reach out anytime—or take our dry eye quiz to see if OKO may be right for you.
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