Artificial tears
Quick answer
For most patients with dry eye, artificial tears are the first step in treatment. They lubricate the eye's surface and supplement your natural tears, relieving the feeling of dryness, burning, or a foreign object in the eye.
For most patients with dry eye, artificial tears are the first step in treatment. They lubricate the eye's surface and supplement your natural tears, relieving the feeling of dryness, burning, or a foreign object in the eye.
Not all artificial tears are the same: formulas differ in viscosity, with or without preservatives, and some include lipid components specifically designed for evaporative dry eye. Using the wrong formula for your type of dry eye can bring little or no relief.
For patients who use tears very frequently, preservative-free formulas are recommended, since repeated use of preservatives can irritate the eye's surface over the long term.