Travel question (about eye rinses)

[Silverlady]

What do those of you who travel and have to live out of a suitcase for a couple of weeks use for rinsing the eyes? I have a lot of cloudiness in my vision later in the day due to drops and just the general eye issues. I always feel that if I could rinse my eyes, it would clear up some. I know Rebecca uses saline at home but wasn't sure what she does when traveling.

Billye

[kitty]

I use saline. I buy a very small bottle of saline, found in with the contact lens solution. I buy the kind made for sensitive eyes so it does not have any harsh chemical preservatives in it. I use it right out of the bottle, being very careful not to touch the open part of the bottle to anything. Docs out there would probably cringe at this. There is another type of saline that comes with an eye wash cup. They are sterile and the saline comes 6 vials to a pack. Those would work as well, but you would end up throwing alot of the saline away. Unisol is one brand I can think of.

[Rebecca Petris]

Sorry I never saw this one... I always have Unisol with me while travelling because I use it for my lenses. So, I use it when needed while travelling. Actually for kind of end-of-the-day eye tiredness I'm at least as likely to use NutraTear as saline.

One of my "wishlist" products I'd like to goad some manufacturer into making is little unit-dose versions of this, like the somethingorother-pods Ian has mentioned that are available in the UK.

[neil0502]

Baudouin's clinic gave me a couple of these, too.

Are we just talking about this:

http://www.themedicineprogram.com/product/2099

or this:

http://www.nextag.com/saline-5ml-inhalation/search-html

or this:

http://www.everydaymedical.com/index...OD&ProdID=2450

??

I haven't checked to see whether us lackeys can buy them directly, and haven't really tried this idea myself too much, but ... especially since I'm BFS-bound ... maybe I'll look into it....

[calli66]

Aerosol Saline in a Can--It Works

I use "equate" brand, purchased from Wal-Mart at about $2.30/can (?). This is 12 Fl OZ (355 ml), sterile, no preservatives ("sterile, isotonic buffered solution containing sodium chloride, boric acid, and sodium borate"). Sold in the contact lens supplies department for rinsing lenses.

Just spray this into a clean eye cup, and rinse your eyes. Cheaper than Unisol, and stays sterile in the can--no need to throw it away after 30 days.

Drugstores sell name-brands--the usual contact lens solutions manufacturers, but the cost can be up to $6.00/can or more.

I have used this for years for rinsing contacts and rinsing my eyes (used it TOO much for the latter purpose, actually---but that is another story). Now, I carefully use it only a couple times a day, to clean out the excess gel and eyedrop residue, if it's building up.

C66

[Rebecca Petris]

I haven't checked to see whether us lackeys can buy them directly, and haven't really tried this idea myself too much, but ... especially since I'm BFS-bound ... maybe I'll look into it....

THANKS. I had no idea! I just went on iMed and bought some. They are $0.10 each (yes you can specify quantity). I bought 100 5mL size for $9.83 (plus, cough, $7 something for shipping). I'll report back when I get them. This is exactly what I was hoping for.

Here's a link to what I bought.

[Silverlady]

Great find

Hey Neil,
This is a great find. Thanks a lot.

Billye

[Rebecca Petris]

Yes!!!! Best $17 I've spent lately.

Neil - I owe ya!

I got my saline today. It's PERFECT. Just wish I'd known there was something like this before!

I ordered 100 5mL twist-off unit doses. They are long skinny rectangular twist-off cases, in blocks of 4 that you break apart. The twist-off is easier and handier than some artificial tears I've tried in the past.

The 5mL size is pretty much the perfect quantity for my needs. I will have to try it tomorrow morning to be sure but I think it's just the right amount to rinse and fill both sclerals before putting them in, plus some left over in case I have to redo it.

5mL is considerably more than enough for a generous saline rinse of both eyes. I can picture keeping a couple of these on the nightstand for rinsing in the morning on a 'sticky-eye' day. For travel, I'd MUCH rather grap a 4-pack of these babies than a bottle of Unisol. - If I were ONLY planning to use this for eye rinses, I'd get a smaller size - you can put an awful lot in your eyes without making much of a dent in 5mLs. On the other hand, at $0.10 apiece I wouldn't sweat the wastage too much.

Best of all, it dribbles nicely and predictably. The maddening thing about Unisol is those puncture thingies are so unreliable - you never know if it will squirt straight at the target or send a stream sideways into your ear.

Anyway, FYI what I got was:

Airlife Modudose 0.9% Sodium Chloride Solution, 5mL, Sterile, Non-Pyrogenic etc etc. I think I put a link in the previous post.

[YGB]

I asked my MD about saline rinses the other day and he just shook his head like he wouldn't recommend it. I'm not sure why and I don't know why I didn't ask further (this is truly a weakness that I continuously pay the price for ... see LASIK story).

However, some users on this forum seem to find therapeutic value in occasional saline rinses (especially in the morning although when I wake up, I usually feel better than later in the day).

Has anyone's MD ever said that it was a good idea or is this just a practical solution that us "lackeys" have figured out helps and since it is preservative free saline, probably can't do much harm? Thanks for any input.

[calli66]

My eyedoctor (not an MD) suggested saline to rinse out the protein debris my eyes were making--a pollen response--springtime problem. She said that there was so much crap in my eyes that it "looked like a snowstorm" (slit-lamp view).

I still use saline a couple times a day to clean out the gunk and mucous from drops and gels.

I used to use WAY too much, up until about 1.5 years ago--and it was bad for my eyes because it washed away the normal tears and left them drier. But it felt good, and I was addicted to it. None of the otc drops do much for me, so I kept using saline. It wasn't until Genteal Gel came out, that I was able to break myself of the saline habit.

C66

[YGB]

Calli - thanks for the good info.. I think that I will stick to Nature's Tears Eye Mist (http://www.naturestears.com/) for the time being since it likely provides similar relief (although it is more costly than the small saline vials on the BB). Thanks.

[Laura]

Rebecca, since Chris has returned from BSF we canot buy unisol or anything like it where we live .Called the supplier in Canada and told us they dont sell here as theres not enough demand Anyhow what I thought would be a non-issue to find the right saline for lenses is turning into a very expensive ordeal ordering it online.However 1 drug store does sell those little vials, are these ok to fill lenses up with?

[Laura]

Just a thought ...Rebecca you should add the saline and the cleaner to your shop on site surely we are'nt the only ones with this challenge??

[Rebecca Petris]

Rebecca, since Chris has returned from BSF we canot buy unisol or anything like it where we live .Called the supplier in Canada and told us they dont sell here as theres not enough demand Anyhow what I thought would be a non-issue to find the right saline for lenses is turning into a very expensive ordeal ordering it online.However 1 drug store does sell those little vials, are these ok to fill lenses up with?

I'm fairly sure it's OK but I am checking with BFS first to be certain.

If so, then the cost of ordering small vials online is about half the cost of getting Unisol in drugstores. BFS advise chucking the Unisol every two days if I remember right, and that adds up to around $30-35 per month. With the 5mLs, even if you have to refill the lenses a couple of times a day, a box of 100 (which cost me $10 plus $7 shipping) would last a month.

Re adding them & cleaner to the shop... Usually for products like that it's cheapest to get them through big (r)etailers but if accessibility is a problem I'll certainly check into it.

[Rebecca Petris]

Backpeddling...

Well, I'm sorry I got carried away with this before checking it out more first. Here is the verdict:

Probably harmless, but not recommended by either the manufacturer or BFS at this time because, although sterility and salt concentrations are addressed, it should have the proper pH and buffer systems to be used as an eye wash type product.

On the plus side, however, the manufacturer of Unisol is apparently considering smaller packaging in the near future so we may yet see some progress in this product area soon.