How should doctors choose eye drops?👀👀👀

Today's people's work patterns and lifestyles have changed. These changes place an increasing burden on the eyes. Therefore, more and more people have some problems with their eyes nowadays. Eyes can feel uncomfortable for various reasons in everyday life. Dryness, fatigue, bloodshot eyes, itching, etc. are mild symptoms of the eyes. Tears, redness, inflammation, excess eye mucus, and even blurred vision are serious eye discomforts. The following will explain what eye drops should be used when the above symptoms appear.

1. Symptoms: Dry, tired, bloodshot eyes.

People who often use their eyes, such as students and clerks, are more prone to these symptoms. Excessive use of their eyes reduces their tear production. It can cause dryness, discomfort, fatigue and bloodshot eyes. These are relatively mild symptoms. Generally, preservative-free artificial tear eye drops such as sodium hyaluronate eye drops and polyvinyl alcohol eye drops are sufficient. These drugs can effectively relieve the above symptoms. Sodium hyaluronate eye drops are generally used at a concentration of 0.1%. However, 0.3% sodium hyaluronate eye drops should be used when the treatment is not obvious or in severe cases.

2. Symptoms: Itchy eyes.

Symptoms of itchy eyes are common in allergic diseases. For example, allergic rhinitis can easily cause itchy eyes, and even lead to allergic conjunctivitis in severe cases. When patients only have mild eye itching, anti-allergic eye drops such as olopatadine hydrochloride eye drops can be used to treat these patients. Oral allergy medications such as loratadine can be used as a temporary alternative when antiallergy eye drops are not available. If a patient has severe itchy eyes, this is allergic conjunctivitis. Antiallergic eye drops can usually treat this symptom. If the therapeutic effect of these anti-allergic eye drops is not satisfactory, after measuring the intraocular pressure of the patient, hormone eye drops (such as fluorometholone) can be used in combination for auxiliary treatment. Benzalkonium chloride is a preservative commonly used in ophthalmic products. There are clinical reports that benzalkonium chloride can cause toxic ulcerative keratopathy and punctate keratopathy. Therefore, patients with dry eye who require long-term or frequent use of these eye drops or who have corneal damage should be closely monitored while using these eye drops.

3. Symptoms: Watery eyes, red, swollen, inflamed eyes, excessive eye mucus.

These symptoms are usually due to conjunctivitis. If the patient's eye mucus increases, this symptom generally belongs to bacterial conjunctivitis. For people with bacterial conjunctivitis, antibiotic eye drops can be used to treat them. Among the most commonly used are levofloxacin eye drops and tobramycin eye drops. In order to avoid bacterial resistance, the time of medication should be controlled within the minimum time required to treat the disease. In women of potential pregnancy or pregnant women, these drugs are prescribed only if the therapeutic benefits outweigh the possible risks. In addition, for patients with concurrent viral infections, antiviral eye drops need to be used in combination. Clinically common antiviral eye drops include acyclovir and ganciclovir.

4. Symptom: Blurred vision.

Older adults experience blurred vision. The eyes seem to be blocked by something and cannot see clearly. At this time, patients should seek medical treatment as soon as possible to check whether they have cataracts.

What is the correct usage of eye drops?

The correct usage of eye drops:

1. Wash hands before using eye drops. Check to see if it is the eye drops you want to use. After opening the eye drops, the bottle cap should be placed flat without allowing the cap mouth to directly touch the table.
2. The opening of the eye drops should not touch the patient's eyelids or eyelashes. It will contaminate the eye drops and make the eye drops lose their efficacy.
3. Patients should gently close their eyes for about 3 minutes after using the eye drops.
4. If a patient needs to use several ophthalmic drugs in different dosage forms at the same time, the patient should use the thinner drug and then the thicker drug. For example, patients should use eye drops first, then eye gel, and then eye ointment. This practice ensures adequate absorption of various medications.

Precautions for eye drops.

The preservatives in the eye drops have certain toxicity to the patient's cornea and conjunctiva and cause different adverse reactions. Therefore, patients should not overuse eye drops to relieve eye fatigue. Patients should rest with eyes closed or look into the distance instead of using eye drops. Patients should not use eye drops more than 6 times per day for no more than 7 consecutive days unless directed by a physician. In addition, it is not recommended to continue using the eye drops 1 month after opening.

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How to use eye drops correctly?👀

Nowadays, people often use electronic products such as mobile phones and computers. Watching the screen for a long time can easily cause eye discomfort. Whenever the eyes feel uncomfortable and dry, many people use eye drops to relieve the discomfort. However, not everyone knows the correct way to use eye drops and what to pay attention to when using them. The following will explain the correct use of eye drops.

1. Check the eye drops for any abnormality.

First of all, be sure to confirm whether the drug is an ophthalmic preparation. The pharmaceutical requirements for ophthalmic preparations are not the same as for general dosage forms. The resistance of the eyes is lower than that of the skin or the stomach. Ophthalmic preparations are used directly on the eyes, so their pharmaceutical requirements are much higher than those of general dosage forms. Medication in normal dosage form should not be used in the eyes. In addition, you should also check that the expiration date on the packaging has not expired when you use it. Not only eye drops, but all medicines should not be used after they have expired. All ophthalmic preparations should not continue to be used and should be thrown away if particles appear or if the color of the solution changes.

2. The correct procedure for eye drops.

You should wash your hands before applying eye drops or ointment. Then you can lie down or sit with your head thrown back. Use your index finger and thumb to gently pull the lower eyelid down to form a sac. Turn your eye upward so that your inferior fornix conjunctiva is fully exposed. Put the eye drops close to your eyelid. But do not touch the eyedrops on the eyelids, as this may contaminate the eyedrops. You dispense the eye drops as prescribed and close your eyes gently. Try not to blink immediately after instilling the eye drops. Gently press with one finger on the corner of the eye near the side of the nose for 1 to 2 minutes. If you don't do this, the eye drops may flow from the surface of the eye through the nasolacrimal duct into the nose and mouth. After 1 to 2 minutes you wipe off the excess eye drops with a clean tissue. 

When using eye ointment, squeeze a certain amount of eye ointment into the lower eyelid. Eye ointment should be squeezed into a thread. However, do not touch your eyelids or eyes when squeezing the ointment. Then close your eyes and roll them a few times. This allows the ointment to spread evenly.

3. How to store eye drops.

Eye drops bottles do not need to be wiped or rinsed after use, as this will contaminate the drops. Just screw the cap tightly and store it in a suitable environment. In addition, because the eye drops are sterile preparations, it is easy to breed bacteria after opening. Unless there are special regulations for eye drops, they should be used up within 1 month after opening. After opening, eye drops should be stored in a dry, cool place away from direct sunlight. Some eye drops will need to be refrigerated, but not frozen.

4. Precautions for combined use of eye drops.

Sometimes a patient may need to use several eye drops. However, these eye drops cannot be used together at the same time. Under normal circumstances, one eye drop is instilled first, and then another eye drop is applied 10 to 15 minutes later. If eye drops are used at the same time, the first eye drop is not fully absorbed and washed away by another eye drop. This can cause the first eye drop to be ineffective. 

In addition, in order to avoid eye drops that are too irritating to the eyes, it recommends that patients use less irritating eye drops first. For example, patients need to use levofloxacin eye drops and sodium hyaluronate eye drops in combination. It recommends that patients use sodium hyaluronate eye drops first, and then levofloxacin eye drops after 10 to 15 minutes. 

If the patient needs to use eye ointment and eye drops at the same time, it recommends using eye drops in the morning and eye ointment at night before going to bed. After applying eye ointment, the ointment spreads into a film on the cornea. This can affect vision. It recommends using eye ointment at bedtime.

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