How to Determine What Eye Drops Are Best to Treat Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome is fairly common, especially for women and the elderly. Choosing the optimal eye drops to alleviate symptoms of dryness, irritation, redness and ocular inflammation of the front eye tissues can seem overwhelming when confronted with the plethora of options. Follow some steps to help narrow down the list of options, and determine which eye drops are best to treat your dry eyes.

Things You'll Need

• Eye doctor

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Instructions

• 1

  Take the Schirmer's test. Ask your eye doctor to conduct the Schirmer's test, which can determine a crucial factor about your dry eye condition: whether there is difficulty in tear production or whether the tear quality is poor, causing rapid tear evaporation. This alone will create a major distinction between eye drop choices.

• 2

  Ask your eye doctor about alternatives to contacts. According to the Wang Institute for Dry Eyes in Nashville Tennessee, dry eyes are the most common complaint of patients who wear contacts. Long-term use exacerbates dry eye syndrome. A number of new and effective vision correction procedures are available, such as laser eye surgery, so understand that contacts are choice, and one of many.

• 3

  Check the side effects of any current medications. Certain medications may cause dry eye syndrome, such as blood pressure medicines, antihistamines, antidepressants, Parkinson's medications, as well as some birth control pills, according to AllAboutVision.com. Decide whether these medications are worth suffering from dry eyes.

• 4

  Ask the eye doctor about Restasis eye drops if there is a deficiency in tear production. AllAboutVision.com reports that Restasis is the first treatment of its kind, and actually helps the eye produce more tears. This is an effective, FDA-approved solution that is particularly beneficial to older patients who won't be able to cure the dry eye condition, but can at least relieve its symptoms.

• 5

  Use "artificial tears" if there is a problem with rapid tear evaporation and poor tear quality. There are many types of artificial-tear eye drops, which will lubricate the eye sufficiently, and not require constant reapplication like many over-the-counter (OTC) eye drops. Ask your eye doctor which type would be optimal. Lubricating drops would be optimal for patients who live in dry climates, which can cause dry eye syndrome.

• 6

  Avoid OTC eye drops before checking with your eye doctor. Many OTC eye medications promise to "get the red out," without actually lubricating the eye, and may sometimes worsen the dry eye condition. Other OTC medications provide extremely short-term relief and require constant reapplication, which may do more harm to the eye than good. To save time and money on trial-and-error eye drops, check with your eye doctor before making knowledgeable decisions.

• 7

  Try Lacrisert treatment for moderate to severe dry eye conditions. This option may benefit elderly patients or those who live in extremely dry climates. Lacrisert treatment involves placement of a tiny insert inside the lower eyelid. The insert is filled with a lubricant that is continuously released throughout the day.

• 8

  Use contact lens re-wetting drops only if the condition is mild or short-term. Effects don't last, and multiple applications are needed, however, it's a quick and inexpensive fix to a temporary problem.