To anyone wanting a better night time gel

[charon8]

Some info...
My eyes are the dryest of the dry, I MUST use the Boston Scleral Lens.

I would be up every hour to re-lube my horribly burny eyes at night because nothing worked until my husband brought home the following liquid gel:

Bausch & Lomb preservative free Moisture Eyes liquid Gel Lubricant eye drops.

Bausch & Lomb had a WONDERFUL product that worked! They discontinued it becuase of ...Lack of sales !!!
I used it at bedtime & only had to get up every 4 hours to re-gel.
It contained hypromellose at .08 % concentration and Dextran at o.1...all completely PF and in single use vials.

It was named as the number one product by one health information establishment in the UK for treating dry eyes disorders in children. It was also sold here in U.S.

After two years, my tear function was improving because of this product.

I did research and found that hypromellose is an anti-inflammatory and analgesic.

But it has to stay on the eye long enough and be in the correct concentration.

It seems they did not market this product effectively, as even they admit it was a wonderful product, but lost money on it !!
It was not advertised for night time use, as Thera Tears Liquid Gel is...nor did it have the "fancy" box. My opinion, and that of others, is that Thera Tears isn't even in the same league.

And the Bausch & Lomb product wasn't in every state here in the US, I had to send away for mine, by the case.
It was sold by the box in other states where it was available.

To those looking for a good gel, and aren't getting anywhere...If you have never heard of this product...or have used it and miss it... and would like them to bring it back, maybe we could BEG them, I have, but they stand firm...so far. I've been told that many patients of the Boston Foundation for Sight are looking for a good gel, too, and have NEVER heard of this product!!

I know that not everyone can use the same product, but this was a very good gel, and I'm betting that many people could benefit, it just was not widely marketed or advertised . Maybe this is trying to move a mountain, but there's nothing to lose and just maybe everything to gain.

I have tried all other products & not one comes close...

And sodium carboxymethylcellulose is not the same as hypromellose, as some "experts" seem to think.

If anyone is interested, Bausch & Lomb phone is 1-800-553-5340 (American)
Ask them to direct you to the department that handles such affairs. Our advisor said that an even better solution would be to write Ronald Zarella, CEO at B & L, a very nice letter to explain the situation.
I don't have Mr. Zarella's address, but I'm sure It can be obtained from people at the number listed here. I'm planning to do this.

Regards
Charon

[Eli]

Thank you Charon. I feel as though I am beginning to need a night time gel and really dislike GenTeal. I will certainly look into this.

[Rebecca Petris]

It's a good time to be contacting B&L about product preferences. They have just acquired Soothe and are clearly trying to build a new product "family".

I remember when they stopped making a couple of their products. I think it was around the time when they switched over from the "Moisture Eyes" brand to "Advanced Eye Relief" (placing themselves at the top of the list alphabetically). Two products in this like contain BAK, so they know they need a dry eye makeover. - On the other hand they probably cannot support niche products - but then maybe they will be open to the idea of selling them to another company. In that case, again, the more people who contact them to say they want the product the more likely they are to consider it. So I hope some of you will contact B&L - even if this is not "your" favorite product, if it helps others you'll be doing a very good thing.

[liz56]

Hi, Cheron.

Thanks for the information. I think that Tears Naturale II sounds similar to the product that you are talking about. It contains hypromellose 2910 at 0.03 % and Dextran 70 0.1%. It has a preservative, however, POLYQUAD (they are the ones using the capital letters!), and it is polyquaternium-1 at 0.001%.

[charon8]

Hi Liz,

There are a lot of artifical tears containing the ingredients you mentioned, but they are not close to B & L discontinued product. Hypromellose at
.08, and the viscosity (staying power in the eyes) were the great things Moisture eyes liquid gel had going for it. Plus, absolutely PF. No other eye drop or gel has this combination, or if they have, they have been discontinued.

Regards
Charon

[liz56]

Hi Liz,

There are a lot of artifical tears containing the ingredients you mentioned, but they are not close to B & L discontinued product. Hypromellose at
.08, and the viscosity (staying power in the eyes) were the great things Moisture eyes liquid gel had going for it. Plus, absolutely PF. No other eye drop or gel has this combination, or if they have, they have been discontinued.

Regards
Charon

Thanks, Charon. If you find something comparable, please, do post it and PM me! I am looking for something to help me get through a night. I had my first erosion in two months the night before last, and it is because I awoke at 1:18 a.m. and did not put in more gel. I thought that since I had just gone to bed at midnight and my eyes still felt moist, I would be okay-- until 4:27 when I woke up with pain, tearing, and the predictable blurry vision that persists through the day. UGH! Last night was better, though. I was up three times and loaded myself up on gel.

Best,
Liz

[calli66]

Bausch & Lomb had a WONDERFUL product that worked! They discontinued it becuase of ...Lack of sales !!!

You know, I think I got a sample of that from my ophthalmologist about 4 years ago, when I first went to him about dry eyes. I didn't know a thing about gels or drops and was having a terrible time. It was in a single use vial, sort of "squarish" and was VERY thick. I had no idea how to use it--I couldn't even get it to drip out of the container into my eye. Do you think this is the same product you're talking about? It's the only thing that I remember ever seeing that was thick like Genteal Gel.

I have used Genteal Gel at night ever since it came back on the market---after the re-call--and it has been an Eye Saver for me. No other product works for me at night. I don't have any trouble with it (not much burning), but I would think B&L would be interested in selling a competing product---so many people depend on Genteal Gel and would like to use something similar that was preservative-free.

Please post the address---I am definitely interested in contacting them about this product.

Calli

[charon8]

Calli,
The only address I have is from the box:
Bausch & Lomb
Rochester, NY
14609

The phone number I had listed in my first post might yield more info.
I don't know if it's the same product your doctor had you try.
I do know that this discontinued product was thicker than Thera Tears Gel, not as thick as Gen Teal.

Liz, so sorry that you had the corneal erosion

Again, the B & L product was a liquid gel. Some people don't like the crusting of liquid gels, but this one really rehydrated the eyes during sleep. My eyes are very dry, so I had to spray off and reapply every 4 hours at night, but it was more sleep than I'm getting now haha.

I'm one of those that can not handle any preservative.

Regards
Charon

[erinlins]

Thank you soo much for the tip.

Is there anyway to order it online or do you have to contact them via phone?


Glad to hear you found something that works!

[charon8]

Erinlins,

Please read my original post and you will get the entire story. I did not mean to give anyone false hope: B & L discontinued this excellent product and I was hoping that if enough people demonstrated an interest to them, they might bring it back in the future. One can only hope, as they are not willing to release or out license any patent.
Regards
Charon