Does Anyone Else Struggle With Systane?

[Bennyboy]

I have recently seen a new optometrist who has told me that the eye drops I should be using for my MGD is Systane. I have tried them in the past but did not like. I told him this and he was very surprised as all his patients love this product. He told me to use this product three times a day and perservere until at least 2 weeks until I decide I do not like it. I have been using it for 9 days and I really don't like the feeling at all. I find it very thick and it makes my eyes feel really gritty. It also makes me much more concious of my eyes than before I put the drops in. I also feel a slight burning feeling for a while after putting it in. Does anybody else out there not like Systane? I have only heard raves about it. I don't know if I can handle it for another 5 days.

[kaypeeoh]

All of his patients? Every singe one? Does that mean two patients or twenty? I tried Systane and found it didn't work any better or worse than Soothe or Endura or any of the rest. Tell the OD and he should be able to give you samples of other OTC eyedrops to try. OTC eyedrops aren't too expensive. I tried every type on the pharmacy shelf. Aquify helped better than the others but not dramatically more. Prescription Restasis helps greatly but it can take months before improvement is seen. Also many find the drops painful at first.

These are my impressions, nothing more.

[calli66]

Systane didn't work for me either. Same reaction as you described. I always felt that it soaked up and "gummified" the few tears that I had. Made my eyes feel awful.

C66

[kakinda]

I have received bad reports from people who tried Systane (the one with the Polyquad preservative version) including severe irritation. Again it may be the preservative if that's the one you're using, I saw an article on possible adverse reaction to polyquad...
One explanation amongst others. You may try the PF version but why is your optometrist (not a doc may I remind you ) so insistent if it's not working for you? any idea?
take care
K

[Rebecca Petris]

In my opinion our tears are as individual as we are and no one artificial tear can possibly be expected to work equally AND be equally comfortable for a majority of patients. Also, many tears may be practically interchangeable for people with mild dry eye (take a look for example at how many methylcellulose drops there are on the market) but may not do much of anything for people with moderate to severe dry eye.

Having said that, I think that your doctor is right to encourage you to keep at it for a good long trial period. I wish more people would do this. Sometimes what feels best initially is not what does us the most good.

[Scout]

Having said that, I think that your doctor is right to encourage you to keep at it for a good long trial period. I wish more people would do this. Sometimes what feels best initially is not what does us the most good.

Since all dry eye is not the same . . . this point may fit some people but not others.

If your dry eye symptoms are part of an overall allergic, inflammatory or atopic disease response, many of us know pretty much right away that something in the formula is causing a reaction or sensitivity. In my own personal experience, using a drop that caused an intitial reaction for longer periods of time only increased the reaction.

Systane is one of the (many) drops that caused a reaction, pretty much immediately . . .

I have received bad reports from people who tried Systane (the one with the Polyquad preservative version) including severe irritation. Again it may be the preservative if that's the one you're using, I saw an article on possible adverse reaction to polyquad...

. . . likely for that reason.

Scout

[kitty]

My reaction to Systane was the same as yours. Everyone is different. Two to four weeks is probably adequate to decide if something is going to work for you or not. Keep in mind that as your DES changes, your comfort level with certain drops may change as well. Keep an open mind and an open wallet as you may have to change brands periodically.

[Lucy]

Keep an open mind and an open wallet as you may have to change brands periodically.

lol...............

Sometimes you have to change brands because you can no longer afford the drops that work best.

PS. I did not like Systane either.

[calli66]

A long trial...I'd say so. I used Systane for 6 months--I didn't know what else to do. The eyedoctor said it would help smooth the corneal surface. I guess it was better than nothing, but I'm glad I found other drops that work better for me.

C66

[Rebecca Petris]

Since all dry eye is not the same . . . this point may fit some people but not others.

If your dry eye symptoms are part of an overall allergic, inflammatory or atopic disease response, many of us know pretty much right away that something in the formula is causing a reaction or sensitivity.

To clarify what I meant:

I would never suggest somebody continue any OTC product that is causing a reaction or sensitivity. I just meant that sometimes people develop a habit of judging on the immediate "feel" of something, based on whether it provides immediate relief or feels nice. There are products and natural therapies that can be therapeutic over time without any immediately obvious wow factor, or which are even uncomfortable for a time.

[Gaye]

Systane

Systane is one of my favorite drops, but I have noticed that if I let my eyes get too dry (which I am sure we all have done), I find that it does give me that feeling of being thick and blurring my vision. But this is just temporary and it reminds me that I have waited too long between drop use. Both my optometrist and opthalmalogist highly recommend it. It is the drop I use first thing in the morning when my eyes are at their worst. I tried everything else out there and found it is the best for me but everyone is different.

[jadaouisi]

Systane if awful

I have been having recent issues with very mild blepharitis. My doctor gave me samples of Systane. I had what seemed like and allergic reaction and the Systane is the preservative free kind whish is supposed to be hypoallergenic. Almost instantly, my eyelids swelled and the eye pain (burning) was nearly unbearable. It also caused some crusties on my eyes (later that night) as well. These symptoms were NOT present before I put the drops in I tried to rinse my eyes with water which caused additional burning and iritation. I don't think that I will be using Systane again. I'll stick to Refresh!

[kakinda]

I don't think you're the only to struggle with Polyquad (probably not Systane itself). Polyquad or polyquarternium is probably a less toxic preservative than benzalkonium or chlorhexidine (Edelhauser and Al), it's bactericide, it works on Candida and Aspergillus.
1.however, it is still a quartenary ammonium, so detergent, it disrupts the tear film...
2.however it's known to cause allergies (at the same level as BAK) according to a French study by patrice Vo Tan -one of my former docs- and yves Lachkar.
Polyquad is used by Alcon but ALLERGAN (I repeat it's not me saying it) tells people not to use this preservative because it "may be toxic to the eye and damage the eye by breaking down the cells membranes" (DE brochure from NEw Zealand posted on the website noted bellow). You may find some references later on on the website I'm working on (it's in French for the time being but the reference is in English if you want to try and read it all).
I believe there are others on this site who experienced similar... experiences.