Drops for dry eyes?

Question

my doctor says i have dry eyes, thats whats causing the discomfort, she prescribed a lubricating eye drop a few times a day, how long does it take to relubricate the eyes ? Thanx

Answer 1

Dry eye treatment occurs in a step-wise fashion.  There is no cure, only a treatment of the symptoms.  I advise my patients initially to get a washcloth and run it under hot water (not so it burns you).  Wring it out, wrap it around and your finger, and do a gentle scrub/massage where the eyelashes grow in, both upper and lower lids.  Do this twice a day (morning and bed-time forever).  The heat and massaging action serve to stimulate your tear glands to work as well as they can. (This doesn't cost a lot of $$ which is nice.)  Then, apply an artificial tear, preferably preservative-free) 4 times per day to start.  If this does not seem like enough, put more, as much as you need to be comfortable.  If after a few days of using 4 drops, you feel a little better, drop to three drops, then two drops, until you find your threshold.  You are doing this to determine how many drops per day you need to be comfortable.  If more than 5 per day, you may need additional treatment, i.e., prescription meds, punctal plugs, etc.  There are several forms of dry eye, but this is the basic starting point.  If you stop doing the maintenance, the symptoms will eventually recur.  Hope this helps.

BTW, Visine or anything that says "get the red out" is not a good choice in this case.

Answer 2

They should be fine after a couple of days, but it can be different for everyone.

Answer 3

ONLY use the drops your doctor recommended, or with permission, any other preservative-free vial of artificial tears.

Unfortunately,  I think you have the wrong goal in mind with these drops. It will not 'relubricate' the eyes on a building up or longer-lasting basis- drops only work for as long as they're coating your eyes, no more, no less.

Unless you treat the causes of your dry eye, it's unlikely that your dry eye will simply lessen in severity. You need to go  BACK to your doctor and find it out- get at least your tear production and tear breakup times, and speak with her about possible treatments to help reduce the severity of either problem.

Answer 4

use visine once every 6 hours and you'll be fine.

Answer 5

My doctor prescribed me Restasis and it works pretty good.