Can Viscotears cause/exacerbate dry eyes?

[faithlies]

I went for an appointment with an eye dr today following five weeks of eye probs.

First diagnosed with a viral infection, had sore and gritty eyes, couldn't put contact lenses in without eyes going really red.

I've laid off lenses for five weeks now. Eyes have felt alot better in the past two days, to the point today they were barely even red this afternoon at the eye drs. I'd only used Viscotears once this morning when I got up, eyes weren't red before I put the gel in, but always seem to be red afterwards.

Now, despite the VT giving relief to the dryness initially, I did notice that my eyes have always felt worse a few minutes afterwards, then seem to calm down again.

Eye doc says today that although my eyes are dry, the redness and uncomfortable sensation is probably being caused by allergy to the Viscotears (she said allergy to the preservative?)

She put Celluvisc drops in, the stain drop, and also dilated my pupils.

Despite them being messed with, my eyes are now almost completely clear and don't feel particularly dry.

Could it really have been the Viscotears, prescribed initially to relieve possible infection along with FML and antiobiotic drops, that have caused/exacerbated my dry eyes?

Either way, the Viscotears is now in the bin!!!

[faithlies]

Bumpety bump....

Hope someone can shed some light

[Maenad1]

I've never heard of Viscotears...

...but I've had a similar problem with some products I've tried. They seem to give relief initially, then after a few days of use, they don't work anymore.

I would say it's definitely possible the Viscotears caused problems for you. Some people really seem to react to preservatives.

I'm continuing to have good results with Refresh Plus and Celluvisc, and of course the Dr. Holly drops from the Dry Eye Shop. However, I still struggle to wear contact lenses. Dry eyes and contacts do not go well together...sigh.

Glad to hear you are doing better!

[Lucy]

Faith...it's highly likely the Viscotears (or preservatives) are causing the problems. You did the right thing and pitched them. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of eye drops to try and get one (or more) that will not bother you. I have not used Viscotears so am not aware of the density of the drop. Celluvisc, is of course, quite thick. A thinner drop and a good all around no-preservative is Theratears in the single vials.

Try, try again. Good luck. lucy

[eva b]

faith,

anything is possible. Over the last nearly 2 years I've tried almost eerything available in the UK (not as many brand as in the US) - always preservative free - and have never found a single brand of drop that I could tolerate for more than 2 or 3 days.

Sometimes the bad effects (irritation etc) would come immediately, sometimes after a few days.;


I don't know if its the products, or my eyes. Quite honestly, I think that with sore, dry eyes it sometimes gets to the point where putting anything at all in your eye - even holy water - is going to irritate. I found in the end that using nothing at all, other than the warm compresses, lid massage and cleansing, made my condition manageable.

SOmetimes taking a break may be the answer.

Ofcourse, loads of people on here have had tremendous success with Dr Holly's drops, so you may want to look at t hose.

[faithlies]

Well, I don't want to get too excited too early, I know I could be in for the long haul if I really do have dry eyes....

But.....

I put one tiny smidgen of a drop of Celluvisc in each eye at 8.30 this morning -- just to empty the vial I opened last night before throwing it away if anything.

I've been shopping most of the day, been in and out of my nan's very warm house and been out for a meal.

Eyes are clear, bright and not sore or dry at all. No redness whatsoever.

I almost didn't want to tempt fate by posting this and I won't be even trying to put my lenses back in for at least a week.

But for now, it's looking good