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Eye drop


Eye drops are saline-containing drops used as an ocular route to administer. Depending on the condition being treated, they may contain steroids, antihistamines, sympathomimetics, beta receptor blockers, parasympathomimetics, parasympatholytics, prostaglandins, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antibiotics, antifungal, or topical anesthetics. Eye drops sometimes do not have medications in them and are only lubricating and tear-replacing solutions.

Eye drops have less of a risk of side effects than do oral medicines, and such risk can be minimized by occluding the lacrimal punctum, (i.e. pressing on the inner corner of the eye) for a short while after instilling drops. Eye drops are also used for stopping itching and redness of the eyes.

Although most bottles of eye drops contain preservatives to inhibit contamination once opened, these will not prevent contamination indefinitely. Ophthamologists recommend disposing of bottles no longer than three months after opening Eye drops that contain no preservatives are usually packaged in single-use tubes.

Different pharmacological classes of eye drops can be recognized by patients by their different colored tops. For instance the tops to dilating drops are a different color than anti-allergy drops.

Eyes drops sometimes do not have medications in them and are only lubricating and tear-replacing solutions.

There is a wide variety of artificial tear eye drops that provide different surface healing strategies. One can find bicarbonate ions, hypotonicity, viscosity, and non-preserved types. They all act differently and therefore, one may have to try different artificial tears to find the one that works the best.


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Wikipedia

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