Preservative free lubricant eyedrop?

Question

Can anyone recommend a preservative free lubricant eye-drop, my doctor gave me a sample of Systane. When i went to the store i saw a large variety of drops but wasn't sure which one is comparable at a reasonable price without the preservative. Thanks

Answer 1

To get a preservative free drop you want to look for a drop that comes in individual vials or nebules as opposed to a big bottle.  I personally like the systane a second choice is refresh or refresh + again you want to look for the ones that come in individual doses.  I know it can be overwhelming to walk into the eye drop section so I hope this helps.

Answer 2

How severe is your dry eye?

Mild:

-Refresh lubricant eye drops (I personally don't recommend refresh plus, but it's a matter of preference.)

-Minidrops eye therapy (these are impossible to find anywhere but jewel / osco / albertsons)

I personally recommend keeping both of these drops in the fridge whenever possible. They're perfectly safe outside or inside of the fridge, but inside, they have the benefit of being coooold. It's very soothing on a tired dry eye. In general, the rule for refrigerating drops is THIN DROPS ONLY. Elsewise, you might not be able to push the drop out of the vial.

Moderate:

-Bion tears (quite popular)

-Refresh Endura / Refresh Dry Eye (If you can still find any!)

-Refresh Lubricant eye drops

-Minidrops eye therapy

Severe:

-Bion tears

-Refresh Endura (if you can find it!)

-Refresh Celluvisc (Difficult texture to get used to)

-Theratears Liquid gel (Difficult texture to get used to)

Nighttime protection regardless of level of dryness:

-Refresh Celluvisc

-Theratears Liquid gel

(As a trick your doctor may not have told you about, you can get 'more for your money' with preservative free eye drops by recapping them, putting them with the 'open' side up in a shot glass, covering it with a ziplock baggy, and putting it in the fridge. It's safe to use for another 24 hours, although you should use it as your next dose to be safe.)

--

If your doctor can agree to using a SAFER preservative, my humble recommendation is a drop that I have had infinite luck with, called Dwelle. Dwelle is only sold online or by phone, at http://dryeyeshop.com/ and [phone]. I really cannot recommend this drop enough- I use it half as often with twice the symptom control. If you have insurance that (gasp) covers these things, the prescription variant of this drop, Freshkote, may be cheaper than buying OTC drops.

--

Please, remember that treating dry eye isn't just about putting drops in- that's managing a SYMPTOM, but not managing the WHOLE DISEASE. To learn more about the environmental modifications, as well as simple treatments, you can make to manage all of your dry eye, I strongly suggest starting at the checklist here: http://www.dryeyezone.com/faq/checklist....

Answer 3

Refresh plus eye drops. they are great