I get red, watery, itchy dry eys from my allergies. But eye drops seem to make them worse.?

Question

Usually after I put the eye drops in, my eyes burn a little bit. Is there something else that I can use to alleviate the irritation and take away the redness? Is there an ingredient that's in some eye drops have that others don't use that may be what's making it worse? I'm always looking stoned, but it's just caused by my allergies or lack of sleep. So, obviously I really don't want people to get that idea about me.

Answer 1

You and me both!! My allergies have been driving me nuts the past several days.

When I was in for my most recent PRK postop visit, I asked the surgeon about what I should do. Claritin was helping with my eye symptoms, but not clearing them. He recommended Zatador or Alaway (they're the same main ingredient). So far...KNOCK ON WOOD...I have not had any left-over redness or irritation after that initial sting when putting them in. I started with trying the Alaway.

You didn't mention what you were using, but some eyedrops, like Visine, are really harsh and the more you use them, the more red your eyes become...so if you have been using a Visine or Clear Eyes product, you need to stop using them.

Something else you can try for the irritation would be some preservative free artificial tears (Refresh, GenTeal are two big brands). They are very gentle on my eyes. I typically wait about 10 minutes after I put in my Alaway before using my Refresh Plus. Sometimes it is the preservatives used in the eyedrops that could be compounding your problem. If you're not wanting to try the allergy eyedrops right away, you could try preservative free artificial tears...and use them as often as you need to to see if that helps with your eye symptoms.

I also use Claritin for the rest of my allergy symptoms. Combined with the allergy drop, so far so good...no itching since I started taking them 5 days ago...but ragweed season hasn't hit yet...that will be my MAJOR test.

Good luck and if that does not work, your optometrist can prescribe Patanol or Pataday to help with your eye allergies, but you would need to call for an eye checkup.

Answer 2

Otc Eye Allergy Drops

Answer 3

Your eyes can actually become addicted to OTC eye drops such as visine. If you are having burning after the drops- you could have a scratch on your eye and ANY ingredient may irritate them more. There are some formerly prescrption only eye drops that have just become OTC. You can try these. If they don't work see your doctor (or go to Walmart opt, ask to speak to the dr, he / she may be able to tell you what drops would work best.....may have samples) and ask for a prescription. The OTC ones like visine have so many preservatives that can burn if you have a scratch. We use these prescrition ones- Patanol and this formerly RX one now OTC- Alcon's NAPHCON ( contains- Naphazoline, hydrochloride .025%, Pheniramine Maleate.3%) You may find a different brand, as I noticed 2 that were previously Rx, I bought this because it was a bonus pack but the ingrdients were the same. My son has severe seasonal allergies (so sever his entire face swells) and these work everytime! Best wishes!

Answer 4

What drops are you using? If over the counter "get the red out" drops like Visine or OphconA, they are preserved with BAK which causes sensitivity in many people. Plus those kind of drops do not have an anti allergy ingredient.

See your family doctor for prescription anti allergy eye drops and ask about allergy testing. You may benefit from an oral anti histimine or allergy shots.

Answer 5

Visine A has an antihistamine in it. It is formulated specifically for allergy eyes. I have the same problem and these drops work fantastic.

Answer 6

You could possibly be allergic to thimerosal. Try using an eye drop that doesn't contain thimerosal see if that helps.