How many times a day do you use your eyedrops

[lui]

Hello everybody,

how many times a day do you use your eyedrops?Is there a limit?Even if they are preservative-free?

[alywankin]

eye drops after lasik

In the first months after lasik I used them about every 15-20 minutes. At 10 months post lasik I'm down to every 2 hours or so. I had read something here about "overdropping" so am still trying to cut back.

Wonder if every 2 hours might be too much as well ????

[lui]

I don't understand, some doctors say to put a lot of drops so that your eyes don't get too dry and some say you shouldn't...I think every two hours is ok...

[kitty]

It depends on the day and too many times to count!

[jsalad]

Depends on the day for me. 2 weeks ago, after my first set of plugs, I was doing great, only using tears 4 times a day. After a week, they got dry and red again...got another set of plugs (now all 4 ducts are plugged), and eyes are still red. This week I'm using them every hour or more.

[bvendig]

ho w many times a day do you use drops

hi all
recently i had plugs put in (all 4) and now i use the tears a few times a day.
prior to that i used them about every 10 to 15 minutes.
I use Bion tears (no preservatives) and genteal.
betty

[gz9gjg]

Over use of eye drops is likely to reduce your tear quality. I try to use drops no more than 3 x per day: am when inserting RGPs; pm when removing and once mid day. The only time I use drops more often is if I get dirt in my eyes and need to clean and reinsert my lenses. The RGPs do seem to help with eye moisture, because they hold a pool of tears between the cornea and the RGP. Using moisture chamber 7Eye sunglasses when outdoors also helps a lot.

[Teri]

You know, this is an excellent question. There was a time when I felt that over-use of drops was probably hurting me in the long run, but, at the same time, my eyes were so freaking dry that I *had* to do something. If I hadn't used them so frequently I might have ended up with damage to my cornea from the extreme dryness.

It's a catch-22: you need to keep your cornea moist to protect it, but the only way to do this is to dose with artificial tears, which may be ultimately impairing your body's ability to repair its own tear film.

I used OTC drops every 30-60 minutes for well over a year. I think that over-use of oily drops (Refresh Endura was my favorite drop and sometimes I'd combine it with RefreshPM -- during the day!) made my MGD and blepharitis worse, but they may have been the only thing that kept me from losing my sanity during that time.

My eye doc advised me to use drops containing oils no more than 4X a day.

I feel very lucky that, since getting on autologous serum and sticking with my daily regimen, I do not use OTC drops any longer. I keep some vials around for emergencies, but I just use the serum 4X a day and Genteal Gel at bedtime.

Teri

[elvishthistle]

I was told to use my drops about 4x a day. The made it sound like more would be ok...but I try to stick within the limit of 4x.

[LouisvilleLady]

eye drops

As with several others on this website, my use of eye drops varies according to my needs on any given day. However, I will say that I have asked my doctor about this several times. He always says that as long as there are no preservatives in the drops, I can use them as much as I need to feel comfortable - but at least four times a day.

[Sabrina]

probably using way too many

There are day I use them every 15 minutes. I feel like my day consists of this What else can you do when you can't even blink without feeling like you are peeling off layers of your eyeball just by doing so!

[steadystrain]

drops per day

Don't use any drops anymore.......drops made my puncta feel raw...
Do wash eye lashes with dandruff shampoo (close eyes tightly) every morning and every night though. And Q-Tip over lashes (gently)
with saline solution every morning.

[Sjogrens gal]

Eye drop use

I have been using around a bottle of eye drops a day for nearly 6 years now. Needless to say it did not take long for the preservatives to cause trouble and so I had to have preservative free ones. I was prescribed some here in the UK and although they had no preservatives in them eventually I set up a reaction to them as well.
For about a year now I have been using Moorfields own saline solution that they prescribe for me and touch wood I have had no issues with it. Salt adn water it seems works for me.
In fact I now only use 2/3 bottle a day.

I have been told by Moorfields eye hospital that there is no limit use eye drops to make you feel comfortable, however the preservative ones will affect you if you use too much and the thicker ones, including the gel ones, cause the eye lashes to get sticky and so you need to wash them a lot. I used Johnsons Baby lotion when I needed to as it kept them free of the glue like substance.

Not available in the UK as yet although available on the continent is a product called Lacrisert. These are amazing. I get them from the USA and all it is is something that resembles a grain of rice that you put into the eye. I found that then I did not need to put any more eye drops in all day. No pain, easy to use and worth the money to get them prescribed in the USA.

Sjogrens Gal

[riverstoneannie]

eye drop insanity

Here is the regimen I am supposed to be using. Restasis twice a day, pred forte up to 6 times a day during bad flares once a day to none if I am doing okay. Azasite once a day in the evening. then maintain eyes with lubricating drops at least 4 times a day. currently I am using drops 3-4 times an hour unless I get extremely busy with a critical care patient at work then I get behind, my eyes get very dry and then it is hard to catch up until the next day This is all when i am at work in a hospital which has great ventilation and dehumidified air. I frequently will wear goggles to work If I know I will be too busy to attend so frequently to my eyes. at home I can get by with lubricating drops about every 2-4 hours. I am not sure about how wise it is to be using the steroid drops so liberally.

[ThanasisVC]

Usually 3-5 times a day...!