Do you think I should use allergy drops

[TRiBaL]

I am allergic to trees, grass, dust mites, mold and other stuff making me allergic year round but I don't know if my dry eyes is caused by allergies. Probabaly a good chance I am though if I am very allergic. My eyes don't itch just burn but I heard your eyes don't have to be itchy to have allergies.

Also if I start to use allergy eye drops like optivar, do you think it would be okay use with restasis? I know alot of you arent M.D.s but have you ever been told by your doctor it was okay use restasis and allergy eye drops at same time?

[dianat]

I've found relief from allergy drops at certain times of the year. What does it hurt to try? If you don't you'll never know.

[William53]

Hi,

Both restasis and zaditor - non-prescription (formerly prescription) ketotifen fumarate opthalmic solution * antihistamine eye drops - are part of my regimen. Recommended by my opthamologist, supported by my allergist, and reviewed for potential conflicts by my primary physician. Hopefully I'm safe. It has been challenging for me to balance meds for allergies, asthma and dry eye, to avoid med conflicts.

I'm abut 3/4 of the way to "maintenance level" with allergy shots addressing - again, hopefully - strong allergic reactions to dust and cats. Will report back on this in a couple of months.

Best,

[Scout]

TRiBaL,

If you checked archival posts about allergy eye drops, you would find several posts written by me that were very positive about allergy eye drops. I was prescribed Zaditor by my OD and found it very helpful. It does really work.

However, what I found for me is that once I started using the prescription medication, over time I seemed to need it more and more to relieve the allergy symptoms. I started using it during my worst allergy season (wet winters where I live) and after a long time found myself having to use it almost daily. It still worked, but I was using it way too much. This was with my doctor's approval, by the way. My TBUT went from 0 and 2 all the way to 2 and 6. I was thrilled with that improvement.

Then I started reading the threads and posts here at DEZ about the dangers of BAK preservatives used over a long period of time. It was a warning that I took very seriously and from that point on I stopped using the allergy eye drops.

This is my second allergy season without the allergy eye drops and I am having a rough time. This morning my eyes were stuck together with junk and my eyes are red and itchy. But I am working daily to find a more natural solution. I really want to avoid the medication route.

I am trying to work on the sources of my allergies. I replaced my older carpeting in my bedroom and I vacuum much more often and wash my bedding (all of it) more often. I clean the windows (to remove any possible unseen mold) regularly, etc, etc, etc. I also have to be especially careful of any kinds of perfumes or chemicals in shampoo, laundry soap, handsoap, lotions, makeup, etc. I am allergic to many that claim they are hypoallergenic and NOT allergic to some that don't claim to be. I just have to experiment with what I use and watch for a reaction in the next day or so.

I am writing this NOT to tell you that you shouldn't use allergy drops. That is complete your own decision. I am writing this to you to let you know what I found out (for me) and to correct the archival post of mine. They really do work for me, but I really don't want to use them anymore (due to the BAK) and I have been working to remove the allergens in my life now instead of treating the symptoms.

My case may be unique, but I had a similar reaction to allergy medications (this time oral prescription meds) about 20 years ago. My body seems to become dependent on the medication (or I get a rebound effect) and I start out using it periodically and end up having to use it daily. It helps when I use it, but seems to produce such a rebound effect that essentially my allergies get worse over time, not better.

Scout

[dianat]

Scout,

Are there any allergy drops that are not preserved with BAK?

I must add that my eye allergies are only apparent on occasion. I'm definitely not suffering year-round with allergies. The last time I had an episode, I'd been outside in the spring and we sat around a fire pit all evening. It was rough on the eyes and I could not recover.

After a few days, I asked for and got an Rx for an allergy drop because I needed to try something. Sure enough the drops helped. I used them occasionally during the remaining weeks of spring and haven't needed them since.

I feel for anyone suffering from eye allergies year around. Certainly there's a non-preserved drug on the horizon?

D

[stella]

I researched this - To my knowledge there are no allergy drops that are preservative free It is a disgrace, and i wrote to allergan complaining --
In their reply they were very evasive and fudged the issue ,and ended up saying they had no plans to introduce preservative free allergy drops