Just started using Soothe XP, is this harmful long term?

[yoganut]

As my title indicates, I just started using Soothe XP yesterday,
I'm also on Restasis, but my eyes flared last week, and I was desperate to get some relief, Soothe has Restoryl in it.... I"ve read that drops with preservatives are harmful if used long term... is this the case with Soothe?
Thanks.

[kitty]

I personally am cautious of any eye preparation with a preservative in it. I do use the TheraTears drops in the bottle when I am on the road and cannot use my PF vials. It has a preservative that goes away on contact with the eye. I have not experienced any problems with that.

[Terri]

Seconding caution about preservatives

I agree with Kitty. I had such a terrible experience with preservatives, that I avoid them at all costs. I've been using preservative-free, single-use vials for almost a year now, and I recently thought my eyes had healed enough to try TheraTears in a bottle, since it's supposed to be "preservative-free in the eye." Well, not in my eye. It quickly put me back into the drops-seem-to-provide-relief-followed-by-pain-requiring-more-and-more-drops loop. (If you've been there, you know what I mean. ) So, I don't care what name they give it. If it's a preservative, it's not going in my eyes.

[calli66]

I have used Soothe for several years--but only at night, in combination with Genteal Gel (I put the Soothe in when my dry eyes wake me up in the middle of the night).

I don't think the preservative in it is terribly harmful, but that depends on how sensitive your eyes are. If your eyes feel better when using it, then try it. Personally, I don't think the Restoryl is anything special---it's just a different approach to eye drop formulation--they put a tiny bit of oil in it.

I agree with what others have said---going preservative free with the vials is best if you have to use drops frequently.

You mentioned you're using Restasis and having a "flare," and I remembered a recent thread where it's "toxic" effects were discussed. Restasis can be a strong medicine---my eye doctor recommended leaving it in the eye for only 3 minutes, then rinsing it out with TheraTears PF drops. It makes some sense---you might ask your doctor about doing that.

I had to give up on Restasis---no matter what I did, my eyes reacted negatively to it and became inflamed.

Hope you feel better soon.

Calli