Preservatives in drops and No Preservatives? - Lasik Eye Surgery Message Board

Cariabu · 12-29-2005, 10:07 AM

I was wondering why you are suppose to avoid eye drops with preservatives?? Is it ok to use them sometimes?? I found a Gel Tears Lubricant here for at night (I'm in Jordan) and I bought it and then remembered hearing online that you are suppose to avoid preservatives, and it has a preservative in it, is it still ok to use it? and if not why?

Thanks!
Cari

sdv · 12-29-2005, 11:31 AM

Hi Cari,

Apparently some preservatives can irritate your eyes if you use the drops too frequently. I've read that if you are using drops more than 5 or 6 times a day, the preservatives can cause irritation, so you should use preservative free drops. In the case of a gel for nighttime, I think if you got GenTeal gel you are OK. The GenTeal products have a disappearing preservative. Does it say that on the package? Something like "preservative free in the eye"? They have some special preservative that is supposed to dissolve on contact with the eye and therefore can't cause any irritation. Hope this helps!

Michelle