Voltaren eye drops for pain

[Gaye]

Have any of you tried Voltaren eye drops? My eye doctor gave them to me for eye pain - kind of like aspirin for the eye. They are made by Novartis (same as GenTeal Gel) and they do work somewhat when I am really having a bad eye pain day. They burn when you first put them in, but then they settle things down pretty well.

[Rebecca Petris]

Voltaren and Acular are both non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and are used sometimes for symptomatic relief such as when there has been an erosion. However I believe they can be quite hard on the epithelium and therefore may not be suitable in the context of a poor epithelium.

[Gaye]

To Rebecca Re: Voltaren

Interesting - that's probably why it burns so much.

[Lucy]

more bandaids

Acular and Voltaren are more band-aids "they" give us to get us through our rough times. I think they have an arsenal of stuff and just sort of pick one at random. I've used both of these at different times. One doc told me (it) was "tylenon" for the eye. Cute little phrases.

I'm using Acular now twice a day as per an ophth direction as a prelude to installation of Restasis. Like everything else, it's hard to know if it's working. I am going to continue this for 6-9 months and give it a big chance to work. It's been 3 months and I'm still miserable. Maybe our reports should be:
miserable or not-miserable.

[DrG]

Interesting - that's probably why it burns so much.

Actually, there is (or was) a non-preserved version of Acular, called Acular PF that does not burn.

Lots of medicated eyedrops burn upon instillation. The topical anesthetic proparacaine always stings before it deadens. Cycloplegic agents, such as Mydriacil, burn rather strongly, and homatropine 5% is almost excruciating. I think it has more to do with the pH, and/or the concentration of the active ingredient.

Topical NSAIDS are indeed bandaids used to reduce pain and inflammation. They are also used to prevent or treat cystoid macular edema following cataract surgery. Like steroids, they are powerful drugs, and can have side-effects, but are generally pretty safe for short-term use. Better living through chemistry and all that....

DrG