"Preventative" Use of Drops

[georgiav]

I have had doctors tell me to use whatever drop they are recommending for 3-4 times a day. Is there any merit to "regular"/"preventative" use of eye drops like this for someone with constant dry eyes? Or are you better off using drops as sparingly as possible even in chronic situations? What have you heard or experienced with respect to this issue?

[PotatoCakes]

One of my former specialists had me putting drops in every HOUR. I had some corneal damage. According to this doctor, without proper lubricants (tears), your eyelid scrapes along your eyeball, scratching it.

I think the concern with using drops unnecessarily is that your body may not feel the need to make tears, although I don't know. In my case, I don't make tears so using artificial tears (or my serum drops) so my main concerns are preventing damage and comfort and drops help.

Serum drops have helped heal the damage I had and now I need drops less often than I did. I try to use my serum drops at least 6 times / day (prescribed) but there are times I use them a lot more, depending on how my eyes feel.

[poppy]

If you have corneal involvement then I think you need to use the drops regularly and probably more than 3-4 times a day. But if your corneas are fine, then I think you can do whatever works for you.

[indrep]

This question has many more questions before a real answer. The first issue is preservative drops vs those with preservatives.
What other products are used in eyes? Glaucoma meds, etc, Contact lens wearer, surgeries had, etc.
What physical shape the corneas are in? damaged epithelial cells, goblet cell density, etc.
What shape are the meibomian glands in? Is there any regulation of evaporation?
Can the daily environment be having an impact on the evaporation rate?
Could daily activities have an impact on evaporation rate?

The list can go on. My point is that drops alone may not help if other issues of the tear film aren't addressed. If evaporation rate is unaddressed putting 15 drops a day in will not be an answer. If the evaporation rate is addressed then 2-3 drops of a good tear can begin to change the ocular surface environment to a more healthy state.

As with many chronic diseases the therapy is complex and requires compliance, patience, altering environments and believing.