new redness reducing eye drops with no rebound!

[IrishEyes1992]

Hi Rebecca,

what is the name of the preservative free eye whitener on the market?

Do you know of any opthamologists who will compound preservative free brominidine?

thanks

[IrishEyes1992]

Hi Rebecca,

what is the name of the preservative free eye whitener on the market?

Do you know of any opthamologists who will compound preservative free brominidine?

[Mathman726]

Clear Eyes Pure Relief- Multi-Symptom is preservative free and claims to be a red eye reliever.

[Rebecca Petris]

Yes the CE Pure Relief is the one I meant thanks!

I don't think I've heard specifically of a compounding pharmacy doing PF brominidine. Depends on patent status?

[Franklin1987]

Rebecca Petris Is CE Pure Relief safe to use on daily basis without any rebound? Have you heard if it reduces inflammation?

[Rebecca Petris]

Just for clarification... we're talking about the multi-symptom product not the dry eye product.

No free lunch ever on any redness reliever I'm afraid! A vasoconstrictor is a vasoconstrictor is a vasoconstrictor. Rebound redness is always a risk.

What really gets me is that the labeling is so painfully inadequate. Sorry for the rant but... First it says you can use them up to 4 times a day. Then in the warnings it says"

• Overuse may cause increased redness of the eye.

BUT does it say what constitutes overuse? Nope.

Furthermore, it says "Stop and ask a doctor if... blah blah blah... symptoms last more than 72 hours..." BUT that same same label is on the perfectly harmless artificial tears too.

Only consolation to me is, those that overuse these, at least they're not getting the BAK in addition to the rebound effect. Sigh.

/rant

[redhombre]

In other words chronic red eyes people, we're screwed. Lumify doesn't seem to be safe for long term use

[Vivid Panda]

To be honest I'm a bit confused with what people are saying.

Obviously nothing should be misused and using any drop 4x a day is probably excessive but I also don't think its as big an issue as people are saying to use lumify in conjunction with having dry eye issues. I have MGD and have had it for several years now. I don't use warm compresses or anything due to the fact it aids inflammation and can possibly warp the cornea. I do use refresh preservative free eye drops though and take fish oil.

So a few things.

1) Even though lumify may further dry the eye, does it really matter if we take artificial tears? The tears themselves dont work depending on the level of dryness right? They work the same regardless of how dry your eye is and will lubricate it effectively.
2) There has to be some legitimacy to the eye drop in regard to rebound redness, toxicity, etc. It's been FDA approved. So we are talking about millions of dollars and countless trials done to check the safety and viability of this drop.

I get it may not be the best. But I don't think it can really be as dangerous as people are currently saying. That being said, I'd love to be proven otherwise as I am considering taking the eye drop (irregularly) and rather have all the information clear.

[diydry]

LASIK surgery has been FDA approved, which should tell you something about the level of risk acceptable to the FDA. My cynicism regarding medical device regulation aside, I think long-term use of any drug is probably best avoided unless there is a very good medical reason. Maybe ask your doctor about it before you start taking it, bring the bottle with you to the doctor's visit, ask them if they say they are comfortable with you using it more than once in a blue moon, like during a job interview or a wedding. Then again I thought Lumify was not a vasoconstrictor like Visine so I thought the greatest risk to taking it would be from BAK, although now I'm hearing that they are all vasoconstrictors with rebound redness risk.

[Rebecca Petris]

1) Even though lumify may further dry the eye, does it really matter if we take artificial tears? The tears themselves dont work depending on the level of dryness right? They work the same regardless of how dry your eye is and will lubricate it effectively.

When we talk about Lumify drying the eye, we're talking about potentially permanent damage caused by frequent exposure to the preservative benzalkonium chloride (BAK). This preservative causes damage at several different levels and this has been well documented by the most reputable research sources. Please see:

http://forum.dryeyezone.com/forum/tf...onium-chloride

They [artificial tears] work the same regardless of how dry your eye is and will lubricate it effectively.

Yes and no. They "work" in the sense they provide temporary lubrication. They don't "work" in the sense that they do not provide sufficient symptom relief for an awful lot of people (hence the existence of an entire industry for dry eye). This forum is testament to the fact that artificial tears are nowhere near enough for many people.

2) There has to be some legitimacy to the eye drop in regard to rebound redness, toxicity, etc. It's been FDA approved. So we are talking about millions of dollars and countless trials done to check the safety and viability of this drop.

That's incorrect.

The FDA does not approve over the counter eyedrops, period. That's now how the regulatory process works. They approve prescription drugs. I'll give an example of that though FWIW:

BAK-containing prescription drugs for glaucoma ARE all FDA approved. These BAK-containing glaucoma meds have caused or exacerbated dry eye in countless elderly people. There has been a slow, slow shift in the industry over the last 10-15 years to start producing preservative free glaucoma drops and doctors have gradually been switching to prescription glaucoma drops with milder preservatives or no preservatives. But that process of change moves at a glacial pace. There is no magic moment at which the FDA says Hey, this is dangerous, we're pulling it from the market. It's a long, slow education process.

Since that process has been so slow, and so difficult, for something even as important and widespread as glaucoma prescription medications, I think that makes it easier to understand the fact that no one, I mean no one, is paying attention to the problem of OTC drops with BAK. This is something I want to get some publicity for during Dry Eye Awareness Month this year. The warnings on the labels are terribly inadequate. Cornea specialists understand the harmfulness of frequent BAK exposure, but so many eye doctors, and certainly the public, don't.

To be clear all I've said is addressing the BAK part of the risk. BAK is slow acting. Rebound redness is a whole 'nuther ballgame. Lumify claims to have a much lower risk of that.

[Vivid Panda]

Thank you very much for your thorough response. You are definitely correct in saying that very few people, including myself, are familiar with the risks associated to BAK. Would you say that the PF Clear-eyes multi symptoms eye drop is a safer bet? I've just been dealing with this chronic redness for a while and I'm about ready to start doing whatever I can for it. I suffer from dryness as well but I use refresh optive-3 eye drops and they seem to be effective in keeping the eyes adequately lubricated.

[diydry]

I think PF clear eyes would still have rebound redness. Maybe just save it for special occasions? I have not used it personally so perhaps others with firsthand experience can weigh in on this product.

One user mentioned the role of glasses to cover up the redness. Would some kind of lightly tinted glasses help to reduce the perception of redness? Isn’t green opposite red on the color wheel?

[Guest]

Regarding the BAK, can't the company just sell these in single use vials? I understand it would be more expensive but I would buy it.

[diydry]

I totally would too! Maybe we can write the company to tell them that.

[Rebecca Petris]

Would you say that the PF Clear-eyes multi symptoms eye drop is a safer bet?

Yes, and

I think PF clear eyes would still have rebound redness.

Yes to this too

There's no free lunch, sadly.... With all redness relievers, it's all about relative risk. Minimizing risk would look like both PF and infrequent use.

Redness is a really frustrating problem when it's chronic. In some cases there's not a lot that can be done safely at all. But in many others, continuing to hunt for causes - including any and all OTC or Rx eyedrops that may be causing some irritation even while it's helping in other ways - and using remedies without side effects (cold compresses, cold saline rinses, etc) - and getting the best possible diagnosis and treatment plan for dryness, etc, can yield results.

I think that a lot of people with chronic redness end up in double jeopardy from chronic use of allergy drops and redness relievers.