Dry and itching eyes can make a suffering person pretty desperate for relief. Eye drops may be one solution you consider during allergy season, or if you are a person with sensitive eyes. You may wonder if eye drops are a good idea with regard to eye safety.

Pros

Eye drops help replace your eye’s natural moisture when your eyes aren’t making enough on their own. Artificial tears and eye drops help to relieve dryness and irritation, promoting comfort. Eyes that are burning or stinging can get relief, even if it is only the temporary kind. During allergy season, this can mean the difference between complete misery and moderate comfort.

If an eye safety related injury has occurred and the surface of your eye is scratched or damaged, eye drops will help heal the surface of the eye. This can expedite the healing of the injuries and can help the eye flush out contaminants and debris that may be lingering in the eye. Of course, any time an injury has occurred you should immediately proceed to an eye doctor for attention. Eye drops are often part of the remedy for injuries and infections since they keep the eye lubricated and help minimize the chance of the eye becoming further scratched or damaged from blinking.

Cons

As much as eye drops can be a boon to eye safety and health, at times they can have a negative effect. Many varieties contain preservatives that can trigger allergic reactions in some patients, which makes a bad situation worse. Some drops can even make eye dryness worse as the relief wears off.

Continuous use of eye drops may mask symptoms that truly should be handled from the source, rather than just the effects of a problem. Certain medications could cause extremely dry eyes. Rather than continuing to treat with eye drops, a switch in medication might be helpful.

Eye drops may not work well enough to provide you long-lasting comfort so you may be repeatedly applying them. This can be annoying, inconvenient and expensive. Interrupting your life to apply eye drops is not a long term solution.

If you suffer from dry eye, or have an eye safety issue, talking to your Phoenix eye doctors will help you get the appropriate course of treatment prescribed. Emergencies should always be handled immediately to preserve your vision, and eye drops should only be used as recommended.