Restasis article on agingeye.net

[Rebecca Petris]

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AgingEye Times comment: Restasis is not the cure for dry eyes. At best, it is a useful addition to the plethora of available options for managing dry eyes. As a first step one should use artificial tears, environmental measures to increase humidity, local treatment of blepharitis, meibomian gland disease (Rosacia related eyelid inflammation) & other external eye conditions and review oral medications that can cause dry eye. If despite these measures the eyes remain red and irritated, then Restasis treatment should be considered. The only justification in switching to Restasis if your current treatment regimen has adequately controlled your dry eye symptoms and the eyes feel comfortable is if you are on steroid eye drops. Otherwise, stay the current course and consider Restasis if symptoms of dry eyes worsen. It is reasonable to consider Restasis anti-inflammatory therapy for patients using artificial tears who continue to have clinically detectable ocular surface disease, particularly if inflammatory signs (for example, conjunctival redness) and irritation symptoms are present.
Some can have the erroneous impression that since Restasis is a prescription eye drop, it is likely to be more effective than over-the-counter eye drops for managing dry eyes. Being available only with a doctor's prescription is an FDA regulatory issue and has nothing to do with how effective a drug is.