Dry Eyes: 10 Best Eye Drops 2021; Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

Poor and very low tear secretion by the lacrimal gland from the palpebral lobes in the eye region is called dry eye disease (DED). The prevalence of dry-eye only in the United States of America is believed to be approximately 11 million people. Dry eyes are more common in Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients. It is one of the most self-reported problems in the world. Have you thought of these Best eye drops for dry eyes?

Dry eyes can occur due to Vitamin A and D deficiencies. Most eye drops contain polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, propylene glycol, carboxymethylcellulose, povidone, glycerine, and mineral oil. There are ways to make eye relief drops at home too.

According to a 2005 study of ocular anatomy values of dry eyes and normal eyes, the values of Central corneal thickness (CCT), ocular anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), vitreous chamber depth (VCD), and ocular axial length (AL) is lower in dry eyes. This is the reason for the lower myopia of the dry-eye subjects.

There are different types of dry eyes, the most generally recognized ones are lupus dry eyes and red dry eyes. Lupus occurs due to B Cell or B lymphocyte dysfunction. That is a subtype of White Blood Cells that function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system. So, it is important to acknowledge the continuous irritation caused by dry eyes in general.

Red dry eyes are caused by allergy, eye fatigue, over-wearing contact lenses, or common eye infections such as the pink eye (conjunctivitis). However, redness of the eye sometimes can signal a more serious condition or disease, such as glaucoma.

10 Best Eye Drops To Deal With Dry eyes

Once diagnosed with dry eyes there are various ways to get rid of it. In this article, we bring to you the 10 best eye drops for dry eye relief. Brands like Systane, Thera Tears, Refresh, Visine, Clear Eyes, Similasan, OCuSOFT, Rohto are always reliable.

For instant relief to dry eyes- saltwater, or saline, is one of the most effective home remedies for eye infections, tea bags over the eyes and try out cold and warm compression.

It is important to be aware of your dye eye drops through the difference in the aromas, hypoallergenic, scented, and unscented. Are they in alignment with Food and Drug Administration guidelines and if they are flexible spending accounts (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) eligible or not?

1. Systane anytime protection lubricating gel

Systane brand is well known for their eye drops to get temporary relief. These gel-based eye drops are clinically proven to deliver extended protection and high-performance relief from your dry eye symptoms. Its “Ultra formula” provides you with the extended relief that you need for the pain, burning, and irritation caused by dry eyes. These act as a lubricant and have been proven to reduce both the signs and symptoms of dry eyes, quickly. This is a great one for immediate, long-lasting moisture and protection. You will not have to worry about how to get through your day. These are available in multiple-size bottles.

2. I-Dew DS Night-Time Aquagel

This is effective on tired eyes caused due to contact lens wear, prolonged exposure to smartphone/tablet/LED screens, air-conditioners and heaters, pollution, dust and smoke. The I-Dew Ultra Eye drops are manufactured under the latest international MP and ISO 13485 standards in a state-of-the-art sterile manufacturing unit which ensures zero contamination. The formulation is developed by an expert team of ophthalmic formulation researchers who specialise in dry eye therapeutics. These high quality eye drops are preservative-free for dry eyes and therefore are a double-strength and longer-lasting innovative comfort eye drop. It is specially designed for night-time Use. This will soothe, hydrate and nourish dry eyes.

3. GENTEAL TEARS Gel

GENTEAL TEARS Gel delivers long-lasting relief of dry eye symptoms. The strength of a gel, is so profound that 1-2 drops of the gel is enough to the pocket made by the lower eyelid. Do remove your index finger from the lower eyelid and you are good to go for great night sleep. Apply before bed to help relieve dry eye discomfort and irritation this will definitely shield your dry eyes against further irritation and also protects against further irritation.

4. Siccasan Intensive Dry Eye Gel with Carbomer and Dexpanthenol

This is a soft and smooth eye gel that distributes quickly over the corneal surface of your eyes, rapidly easing the sensation of tired, dry and burning eyes. The eyelids glide over the cornea and conjunctiva without resistance. The Dexpanthenol heals any corneal damage or abrasions.

Very high-quality combination of dexpanthenol and ensure speedy healing. There is also a carbomer that provides long term relief from eye irritation. This brand manufactures with care by and is engineered by AGEPHA Pharma. You can also use it in combination with Siccaforte eye gel.

5. Thera Tears Theratears

This product has Borate Buffers, Calcium Chloride, Dequest, Magnesium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Purified Water, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Perborate, and Sodium Phosphate. TheraTears Dry Eye Therapy- Lubricant Eye Drops provides immediate, long lasting relief of dry eye symptoms. It’s unique hypotonic and electrolyte balanced formula replicates healthy tears and is preservative free too. TheraTears is made by specialists in the field of ophthalmology and doctors recommend it most often. It is available in a convenient, multi-use bottle which is a value size!

6. Refresh Tears Lubricant

This eye drop provides fast relief for dryness, irritation, and discomfort in the eyes that may be due to prolonged digital device use. It is preservative-free and delivers hydration, locks in moisture, prevents Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Extended use of this provides relief plus protection. The coats are filled with a sheer formula that feels like a drop but works like a gel for lasting comfort. It looks like a nighttime ointment and is great for even intense symptoms of eye dryness. Will soothe your eyes while you sleep from straining exposure.

7. Visine Dry Eye Relief Lubricant

Visine Dry Eye Relief provides temporary relief of burning and irritation due to dryness of the eye and protects against further irritation. It has a “Natural Tears Formula”.This product must be kept out of reach of children. And if swallowed, you have to get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away. It’s active ingredients are Glycerin 0.2% (Lubricant)Hypromellose 0.2% (Lubricant)Polyethylene glycol 400 1% (Lubricant). Inactive ingredients:ascorbic acid, benzalkonium chloride, boric acid, dextrose, glycine, magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, purified water, sodium borate, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, sodium lactate. Just put 1 to 2 drops in the affected eye(s) up to 4 times daily Children under 6 years of age.

Besides, hydrating these eye drops provide soothing relief. The reason for dry eyes can be because of riding on an airplane, screen time irritation, or sitting in an air-conditioned room. The Visine brand is backed by 60 years of expertise. They are available small bottles that can be slipped easily into a bag or purse, so you can soothe your dry eyes anywhere.

8. Similasan Dry Eye Relief Eye Drops

These are good for dry eyes eye relief. They come in a glass bottle and are preservative free. They are known to have no side effects even after using for years. Works against sjogren syndrome. One bottle can be used often. Will comfort your eyes while reading, stress, contact lens wear, and staring at the screen all day can dry out your eyes. You needn’t be concerned about the chemicals. Similasan of Switzerland works differently, by using natural botanical extracts to stimulate the body’s natural defenses and target the root cause. Similasan products’ performance might be better when applied without lenses. If you have redness, itchiness or irritation, avoid lenses for a while.

9. LUMIFY Redness Reliever Eye Drops

LUMIFY eye drops significantly reduces redness to help eyes appear whiter, brighter, and more radiant. It has a unique formulation, that is developed by doctors and is clinically proven to reduce redness in one minute and last up to eight hours. LUMIFY works to selectively target redness with a lower risk of potential side effects. It contains Brimonidine Tartrate (0.025%). for relieving redness. These dry eyes drops alleviates risks associated with other redness relievers, including rebound redness, and loss of efficacy over time.

10. Avenova Lid and Lash Cleanser Spray

This is pure hypochlorous acid in saline. Do not use chlorine if you have sensitivities to chlorine. It helps get rid of chronic eye conditions like dry eyes, blepharitis, inflammation and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. You have to use it twice a day for one week to see the results. It is lab-tested and approved by FDA and has no impurities. Hypochlorous acid is naturally produced by our body to fight off toxin and stop inflammation. Use it after a recommendation from a doctor only if you experience redness, swelling, irritation or pain.

Dry Eyes Symptoms, Causes

Dry eyes disease or dry eyes syndrome is a multifactorial disease according to Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (TFOSS). It causes significant loss of sleep quality. Sleep affects most aspects of our social life. There is surgical correction for dry eyes possible. Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) -eye surgery is noted to be less successful in this case. Although, in common surgery, clinical signs of dry eye and corneal sensation recover to preoperative levels approximately 6 months to 1 year after that.

Dry eyes can cause pain from itchiness soreness and inflammation of the eye lids.In the US Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is one of the main causes of dry eyes. According to research 20 mg of cevimeline three times daily, is safe and effective in improving symptoms of dry eye in patients with SS. One of the best products for dry eyes in the market for SS is LUMIFY Redness Reliever Eye Drops.

The most important discovery in the 20th century on DED is on the use for evaluating Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) potential as DED treatment. It is a component largely found in good green tea brand products. But the European Food Safety Authority recently found that green tea supplements providing more than 800 mg of EGCG per day are linked with a greater risk of liver injury.

How to Choose the right eye drops for your eyes?

Aqueous tear supplementation is one way to manage your dry eyes problem. Different eye drops are prescribed depending on person to person specifications. For example, Hypotonic tear substitutes are believed to be more efficient in ameliorating dry eye symptoms i.e. evaporative dry eye (EDE). And, Osmoprotectants, like, Refresh Optive® lipid based eye drops are used for those who have dry eyes due to eye surgery. Likewise, there are various points kept in mind to try out new eye drops for dry eyes.

Of course, rarely can vitamin A and D deficiencies be compensated through eye drops for DED. But everybody benefits from hyaluronic acid drops solution for their eyes. Therefore, it is important to know the product description because the doctor would have advised you not to use certain products for your condition, or so, because your condition varies because of many reasons. In case of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) which is characterised by modification or reduction of tear fluid lipids, lipid-based (lipo mimetic) eye drops-oil-in-water emulsions (e.g., Cationorm®, Santen SAS, Évry Cedex, France)- are most frequently used.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are also becoming popular in dry eye therapy. It is stable and soluble in water and is cost effective. This technology has been used by Oculis Pharmaceuticals (Lausanne, Switzerland) to formulate eye drops. On the other hand, Soluplus micelles water is the most common drug for dry eyes.

What you need to be aware of to prevent dry syndrome, the vicious circle of choosing and deliberating the disease, is that manufacturing and sterilization methods often need to be adapted for large-scale production for which at times, toxic preservatives are used in eye drops solution, affecting the cost and acceptability of the finished product.

Dry Eyes Home Remedies

Before we get into what to do for dry eye relief it is important to have a stepwise approach to DED treatment, starting with patient education, which you must now slightly be aware of. And then move on to some environmental modifications, and only then comes eye-lid hygiene, and artificial tears application.

It is important to make sure that your eye drops penetrate the base layer of your eyes. In earlier times, vegetable oils were used to prepare oily eye drops; however, the high viscosity and refractive index of oily liquids tend to increase patient discomfort due to vision blurring and foreign body sensation.

Below are some recommendations from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for your dry eyes irritation:

1. Take regular breaks from digital devices by following the 20:20:20 rule to minimize the digital eye strain.
2. Improve sleep pattern through following a proper diet and work-life balance.
3. Use Blue Light Filter Feature on smartphones and try to not go to cell phones after 10 PM.
4. To prevent bacterial and fungus contamination avoid using makeup, or other cosmetics on eyes that contain high amounts of endotoxin. Make sure the levels are adhering to FDA guidelines.
5. Don’t take tacrolimus Nano Capsules; they are less effective for dry eyes.
6. Take zinc supplements to avoid conjunctivitis during the pandemic.
7. Apply cold compression at least twice a day with a paper towel or water bag on your eyes.
8. You can apply Neem leaves and dry turmeric paste on your closed eyelids for a cool feeling as a remedial measure at home.
9. Eat foods which contain vitamin A and D rather than depending on drug substitutes.
10. Do some 30 min light exercise daily for good sleep.

Conclusion

Dry eyes can be painful, irritating and stop us from getting sound sleep. It disrupts our normal life by getting in the way of our work. These are a list of the best eye drops for dry eyes available in the market for 2021. Do not misread product descriptions and be aware of your needs. Dry eyes affect each one of us differently. Some people need it only at night, some need to use it everyday to go have a normal life. There is severe to normal dry eyes and common dry eyes due to too much digital device use. Do understand through all the references in the article about your condition and get the best product for your dry eye pain relief.