Choosing an over the counter eye drop for dry eyes

Author: Michelle Tam RPh BScPhm

Dry eyes affect approximately 6.3 million Canadians (about 21% of our population). Artificial

tears are most often used to relieve symptoms of dry eyes. How do we choose the most

appropriate one?

Common symptoms of dry eyes:

- Teary eyes

- Gritty eyes

- Eye fatigue

- Sensitivity to light, wind or smoke

Causes of dry eyes:

- Age - more common in people aged 55 and above

- Gender - more prevalent in females due to hormonal

changes

- Medications - some acne medications, blood pressure medications, antidepressants,

Parkinson's medications, sleeping pills, allergy medications, birth control and

hormone replacements

- Too much screen time (smartphones, computers, tablets, tv)

- Some medical conditions like Sjogren's Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis or Vitamin A

deficiency

- Contact lens use

Treatment

First, your optometrist or ophthalmologist would need to perform a thorough eye exam to

determine the cause of your dry eyes.

If it is medication related, your doctor might be able to adjust the dosage of the medication to

lessen the effect or prescribe alternate medications that do not cause dry eyes. If treating

the cause with lifestyle or medication modifications cannot stop the problem or is not

possible, over the counter eye drops can be used to relieve symptoms of dry eyes.

There are three types of dry eyes:

1) Aqueous deficient dry eyes - your eyes are not producing enough tears. Hydrating

drops like Systane Ultra, Hylo or Tears Naturale can be used.

2) Evaporative dry eyes - if glands in your eyes do not produce enough oil to prevent

tears from evaporating.

Products like Systane Balance or Liposic can be used to stabilize and restore the

lipid layer in your eyes to prevent tear loss. Calmo eye spray can be applied to the

closed eyelids for this purpose as well.

3) Mixed dry eyes - a combination of both forms. Try Systane Complete, Hylo Dual or

HydraSense Advanced.

Other deciding factors:

1) Contact lens compatibility - requires unit dosed or preservative-free drops.

2) Drops or gel - gel is often for overnight use to relieve severe dry eye symptoms as its

effects last longer than drops.

3) Cost - Products vary in price, ranging between below $10 to $50 per bottle. What is

the difference?

Products made with new technology that deliver nano-sized droplets (Systems

Complete) minimize wastage and can last longer than same size traditional dropper bottles.

Traditional dropper bottles with preservatives need to be discarded 30 days after opening.

Newer preservative-free products can be used for 3 to 6 months, some up to 12 months after

first use, due to special design of their bottles. Some use separate compartments to prevent

drops flow back while others use an airless valve pump (Hylo) to keep the bottle sterile.

Preservatives often limit the amount of drops that can be given in a day due to fear of

accumulation in our eyes. Some can cause harmful effects and destroy our natural tear film.

If you have to use your drops more often than recommended by the manufacturer, it is best

to use preservative-free ones.

When all these factors have been put into perspective, the $50 bottle does not sound as

expensive as it looks after all.

References

1) http://www.drmikeng.com

2) https://candorvision.com

3) https://systane-ca.myalcon.com

4) https://hydrasense.ca

5) https://dryeyedirectory.com