Note when using red eye medicine

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by an eye doctor - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital
Usually, in most cases pink eye can go away on its own without the need for medication intervention. However, it is still possible to apply a combination of treatments when pink eye does not go away for a long time. So, what are the notes for patients who wonder what drugs are effective for red eyes?

1. Use saline eye drops

When you have conjunctivitis caused by a viral infection, physiological saline, (sodium chloride 0.9%), is recommended by many medical professionals because of its mild, safe but also quite effective. Using 0.9% sodium chloride eye drops several times a day helps wash away pathogenic bacteria, moisturize and soothe the eyes. While there is no cure for pink eye, this saline solution will alleviate symptoms of eye discomfort, pain, and itching. Some notes when using physiological saline include:
Time and dosage: Use 0.9% isotonic saline to clean your eyes daily, after waking up, swimming or whenever your eyes are visible. smeared by a lot of rust. Put about 2 drops in one eye each time. Storage: Only use eye drops within 15 - 30 days after opening, need to change the bottle with a new one, even though the expiry date is still over but the opening time has passed. Do not share eye drops with other people, while instilling should not let the tip of the vial touch the eyes and eyelashes because there is a risk of contaminating the vial. Regularly gargle and rinse your nose to remove the virus that causes the disease.

2. Artificial tears

Artificial tears, moisturizers or low-viscosity eyeball lubricants can also be used to treat pink eye with the same effect and bring comfort to the eyes. However, for the problem of how to get rid of pink eye quickly, in fact, salt water or artificial tears cannot soon end the symptoms of the disease. Artificial tears mainly have the effect of attracting and retaining water to maintain moisture on the surface of the eyeball, increase mucus, and help limit dry eyes.
However, because now there are many different brand name drugs in terms of pharmaceutical ingredients (up to dozens of types), the patient does not know what to use for red eye pain or what medicine to take for pink eye to suit them, so You need to see a doctor and prescribe a prescription to choose, but it is best to be a medicine without the preservative benzalkonium chloride. If long-term use of this substance will cause accumulation on the surface of the eyeball, breaking the lipid structure, leading to loss of stability of the tear film. In case of severe conjunctivitis, the patient must check regularly 5-6 times a day. The type of artificial tears is generally only used when there is dry eye condition, not continuously for many days.

3. Over-the-counter drugs

Over-the-counter drugs are mainly used to improve physical health and increase resistance, such as vitamins A and D (adults should not add more than 5,000 UI of vitamin A/day + 500 UI of vitamin D3/day), use continuously for 10 days and then take a break. If necessary, the patient can take additional vitamin C in pill form, or vitamin B2. In case pink eye does not go away for a long time, it is necessary to use eye drops containing vitamin B and chondroitin or eye drops containing vitamins A, E, and B6.

4. Antibiotics

When pink eye is caused by an infection, usually caused by a virus, antibiotics often don't work, and the condition may last for a few days and then go away.
Medicines prescribed by a doctor that contain antibiotics (eg, red eye medicine tobrex, with the active ingredient tobramycin) can only be used for a maximum of 7 days, if not cured, the medicine must be changed. other. Every day, the patient can use the drops 4-6 times a day to be able to promote the prevention of bacterial superinfection that causes corneal ulcers. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses.
Usually for antibiotics, people tend to prefer strong antibiotics, some people even want to inject antibiotics for a few days. Some people even buy expensive antibiotics for their own eyes. In fact, antibiotics cannot kill the virus that causes the disease, but only the superinfected bacteria that are always present with the virus when they are rampant on the conjunctiva. Therefore, for the problem of red eye, what is the effective drug to use, the right attitude is an important part, followed by the drug. In the use of antibiotics to treat pink eye, the principle is that using only one broad-spectrum antibiotic is enough, and using internal or external drugs depends on the patient's economy.
However, doctors often do not recommend using ointments in the acute phase because it will increase discomfort when the eyes are in the inflammatory stage. Meanwhile, drugs that are advertised to treat red eyes are unlikely to be effective in treating sore eyes, especially those with active vasoconstrictors, which can potentially lead to more severe inflammation or cause inflammation. conjunctival hemorrhage, especially in patients with red eyes that do not go away for a long time.

5. Products containing cortizol

Patients can only know their disease status when they are examined by an ophthalmologist, only then can they have a prescription and buy the right medicine. Self-purchase and indiscriminate use of drugs can cause unintended complications, such as the anti-inflammatory cortizol class.
People with chronic pink eye that do not go away can use products that combine a strong antibiotic with a cortizol anti-inflammatory agent such as tobrex pink eye (which is a combination of Tobramycin + dexamethasone), but the doctor must be careful. These drugs may be prescribed on a case-by-case basis on a case-by-case basis.

6. The risk of using the wrong medicine

People who are confused and impatient, often wonder how to get rid of red eyes quickly, find and buy medicine to check, do the fumigation by themselves, and follow the advice of people around. As a result, there are many cases that lead to eye burns due to fumigation or essential oils. In addition, many small patients with cortizol arbitrarily cause corneal ulcers due to Herpes or fungi, so every year, tens or hundreds of people go blind from this problem, the treatment becomes extremely complicated and expensive. .
Therefore, the general view of drug use is to be very cautious. When taking the drug must consult a doctor and should stop taking the drug when the treatment goal has been achieved. When discontinuing the drug, in most cases it is necessary to reduce the dose gradually, avoid abrupt discontinuation, follow-up and follow-up appointments by appointment.
Patients with pink eye disease should go to a medical facility for specialized examination and treatment, should not self-educate about problems such as red eye to use effective medicine or red eye to take medicine quickly. from , leading to self-seeking and buying drugs that are not prescribed. Usually, pinkeye is a benign, progressive disease that resolves on its own within a week. However, there are also many cases where due to improper treatment, the progression is more severe, causing damage to the cornea, adversely affecting vision, making the treatment very persistent.

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