Eye drops are a liquid with a saline-based solution that is used to keep your eyes wet and moist. It is also used to remove the red color that arises as a result of irritation in your eyes. They are used as prescription medicine by doctors and as over-the-counter medicines too.
Common Uses of Eye Drops
Eye drops are used for many things. Ranging from a simple itchy eye to being used as medicine after some sort of eye surgery. Some common uses of eye drops may be:
- Cataract Surgery. Before this certain surgery begins,you will be told to use these eye drops in order to prevent any infections. Moreover,these will also be used to increase the size of your pupil and numb the area that will undergo surgery.
- After eye surgery,when the doctor will remove the damaged part of your eye and replace it with a man-made eye,the use of eye drops will help to reduce the chance of infection and it will help you to heal quicker.
- Conjunctivitis or Pink Eye. This particular disease involves your eye becoming swollen and red. Moreover,it also becomes itchy and is contagious to the people around you. With the help of the use of eye drops your infection can become clear. The irritation of conjunctivitis may also be reduced.
- Furthermore,you may get antibiotic eye drops if the infection is bacterial or you may get some normal use eye drops in case of allergies. In both cases,however,eye drops will prove to be very useful.
- Rewetting Contact Lenses. If you wear prescription or colored contacts and your eyes feel dry when wearing them,eye drops can help. As long as your specific eye drops say that they are usable for contact lenses then you can use your drops to wet your lenses.
- Glaucoma. This condition is a very serious one and can cause much damage to your eyes such as nerve damage and loss of vision if not treated properly. Even so,eye drops can be used for this disease in its early stages. They can help reduce the fluid amount that your damaged eye is making.
These and several other diseases,both serious and non-serious are treatable by eye drops which makes this a very helpful product for everyone.
What Are the Benefits of Using Eye Drops?
Eye drops can lubricate your eyes and replace your eye’s moisture when they are not making enough of their own. So,eye drops prevent dryness and irritation which promote discomfort.
This benefit does not necessarily have anything to do with a specific disease,rather,it is just a helpful benefit that can be used whenever you feel the need to.
Another benefit may be one for an injured eye. Artificial or fake tears promote the surface healing of the damaged area. Moreover,they also prevent discomfort by reducing the feelings of scratches in your eyes. Eye drops also have the ability to get rid of any dangerous bacteria that may have been stuck in your eye.
Artificial or fake tears have many formulas and are thick in texture. Some of these drops or tears may include bicarbonate ions. These drops are held in sterile containers that are only meant for single use.
Eye drops are also super easy to manage,and they are easy to access. This makes them far better to deal with unlike their counterparts of injections and pills.
Disadvantages or Risks of Using Eye Drops
Like all good things,even eye drops can only be used up to a limit. Even though eye drops are extremely beneficial to your eyes for various reasons and are able to treat many diseases,they too can have some risks associated with them.
It is our duty to mention those risks and disadvantages as well in order to avoid any sort of misuse of the product.
â? Eye drops are typically held in a bottle. Because this is so,they must be handled very carefully to avoid any bacterial contamination. This may not be a very common issue,but,it is still important to check on a regular basis that your eye drops are in good condition. This is because if the eye drops are being used even after contamination,the eye could be harmed severely.
â? Another risk or,rather,a disadvantage which is associated with eye drops is the fact that they may not work with all types of patients. Most people do not seem to understand this and,in some cases apply the eye drops repeatedly in order to gain effect. Of course,frequent use of eye drops will cause damage to your eyes sooner or later.
â? While for some patient’s eye drops may be the holy grail of medicines,for others they can prove to be the main cause of an allergic reaction. It is possible that the chemical ingredients in the eye drops do not align with a person and they make the dryness and irritation worse.
Some Tips for Using Eye Drops
If you are using eye drops,whether they are prescribed by a doctor or whether they are over-the-counter eye drops,there are some tips that could be helpful when using them.
First and foremost,all eye drops must be sterile when they are about to be used. In order to ensure that they are,you can check the bottle and its ingredients before your purchase.
Although eye drops are extremely safe for use without much precautions needed,it is very important to make sure the applicator does not touch any external surfaces. This includes the surface of your eye!
The last tip for you to know is to make sure that you or any patient do not use two different eye drops at the same time. Many people tend to go overboard with the use of eye drops in an effort to reduce irritation quickly but that is dangerous. Using one eye drop bottle at a time with proper application will bring all the benefits needed for your eyes.