Eye Care

[Dan Chouinard]

What is the shop choice for daily eye wash?
Thanks,
Dan

[Neil Brooks]

If you really mean daily ... like ... rinse stuff out of your eyes, periodically ... then I'd strongly suggest Preservative-Free Saline Solution (http://www.amazon.com/Unisol-Preservative-Solution-12-Ounce-Container/dp/B001ET76O4).

Best kept in the fridge.

Things that HAVE preservatives are risky. Many are KNOWN to damage your corneas, with repeated use. It's my opinion that the rest are simply not YET known to :eek:

I'm in a world-famous eye clinic ... as I type this. I'm a victim of 6yrs of daily use of preserved eye drops (Benzalkonium Chloride). The preservative fried my eyes.

Not worth the risk ... when alternatives exist.

Usually good to have a bar fridge, in the shop, anyway :)

[mike holden]

Dan, Neil,
Why? would you need to use a daily eye wash?
If you are getting sawdust in your eyes, then reevaluate your eye protection at the source. Safety glasses with side shields, goggles if necessary, air cleaner running whenever in the shop, dust collection, etc are primary protections. If you need to clean your eyes with an eye wash regularly, then something else is wrong.
Mike

[Michael MacDonald]

I'm a victim of 6yrs of daily use of preserved eye drops (Benzalkonium Chloride). The preservative fried my eyes.


what does fried mean in this context? presumably bad... but pain? thicker glasses? blind? what else is there?

I ask because for the last year, I have been using muro128 ointment and muro128 solution... not sure if there is a preservative in it... doesn't say on the box, though it has a whole list of wonderful sounding ingredients. this is for corneal edema, which is not going away... so the eye doctors tell me to use it indefinitely. Perhaps in five more years I will be sufficiently fried as well. (by the way, this eye problem started before the sawdust started.)

[Belinda Barfield]

Michael, if you are using Muro 128 then it was prescribed by your doctor, right? I don't think your doctor would prescribe something that might worsen your problem.

Any preservative free saline would be okay as an eye wash but I would caution that care must be taken in that the solution can be easily contaminated. You certainly don't want an infection with your corneal condition.

I used Muro 128 ointment for several years for recurrent corneal erosion. I worked for an opthalmologist as an opthalmic tech at the time. I can't recall that we ever had a patient who developed any type of reaction to Muro. If you feel you need a daily eye wash in addition to what you are using I would recommend talking to your eye doc.

[Michael MacDonald]

Michael, if you are using Muro 128 then it was prescribed by your doctor, right?.

it is over the counter... the doctor told me to use it, but it is not a prescription. apparentlyl, there aren't a lot of competitive products. Walgreens just came up with a generic in the last few months. it aint cheap--$25 per little bottle or tube.


I used Muro 128 ointment for several years for recurrent corneal erosion.

erosion doesn't sound any better than edema... so you know what fun the ointment is to put in. the drops are even better--burn like a son-of-a-gun.

[Belinda Barfield]

it is over the counter... the doctor told me to use it, but it is not a prescription. apparentlyl, there aren't a lot of competitive products. Walgreens just came up with a generic in the last few months. it aint cheap--$25 per little bottle or tube.



erosion doesn't sound any better than edema... so you know what fun the ointment is to put in. the drops are even better--burn like a son-of-a-gun.

I didn't realize Muro was over the counter now. I've been out of the biz for a while. I recall that it wasn't cheap for the tiny tube.

The ointment was the worst for me because it made my vision so blurry for a while after I used it. I used it mostly at night.

The best way I know to describe a recurrent erosion is this. . . it is like having an open sore on any other part of your body. Every night it sort of heals over and then when you open your eye in the morning the healed part tears back open. If you have ever had a scratched cornea it is like that every morning.

Keep treating that edema and stay on top of things. The only cure for a burnt out cornea is a transplant.

[Matt Meiser]

My eye doctor recommended TheraTears for me due to eye surgery over the winter that was causing my eyes to be red. Its hopefully not going to be a long term thing.

They also have me on some prescription drops which I use at night that are a drop form of an ointment they had me using right after the surgery the ointment was no fun (and was name-brand only so my co pay was much higher!)

[David G Baker]

I use Systane drops in my eyes every night. This is not an eye wash, I use it for dry eyes. It is over the counter and has been recommended by my retina specialist. Clean, clear water should do the trick if you need to clear the dust out of your eyes but eye protection and dust control is probably a better solution than anything you can buy in a drug store.