Which Refresh eye drops for dry eye/also have glaucoma
Hi, I'm on two types of drops for glaucoma, but I also have dry eye. Refresh has so many options. Which drops (OTC) have you found to work best and need less frequently?
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I use Refresh Liquigel. It’s a thick gel. My doctor at USC recommended it to me as I have very dry eyes. The Liquigel really helps with my dry eyes. I also use Restasis which is a prescription.
I use Restasis also
I use refresh pf and Refresh digital pf in vials. The vials work better.
I use Refresh, and Cequa… curious if anyone else does. I’ve been on it for 5 months and not sure it’s working. I have extreme dry eye after Cataract surgery a year ago.
Whatever brand you use, it must be preservative-free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Refresh or Systane preservative free (PF) artificial tears work for me. They are intended to "replace" out tears so don't adversely impact glaucoma. My eyes are irritated by any drops, gels, or eye ointments that are not PF.
Here's an interesting tidbit for those convinced that eye drops must be PF.
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/how-to-choose-lubricant-drops-dry-eyes
Refresh is usually an over the counter lubricant, and Cequa is a T cell suppressant with 0.09% cyclosporine. Cyclosporine is main med in Restatis and Vevye. Varying percentages. Usually mentioned to need minimum of three months to begin to be effective.
I used eye drops with preservatives when I only needed them to clear workshop dust from my eyes, several times a week. I now use drops several times a day and the preservative ones irritate and worsen my dry eyes. Heated eye masks and eyelid cleaning also help with dry eye, enhancing oil gland production, thereby decreasing evaporation rates. Here is a research paper on the topic: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20302969/
That was very informative. Thank you.