What are drops for the eyes?

Eye drops are a solution of a medicinal product intended for instillation into the mucous membrane of the eye. To date, this is the most convenient and effective way to treat and prevent most ophthalmic diseases. There are dozens of drops for the eyes, which differ not only for their intended purpose, but also for effectiveness, duration of use, there are drops for adults and children. When choosing a remedy, you need to remember that you should not engage in self-medication, any medication should be prescribed exclusively by a specialist.

Application area

Today, a huge number of drops for the eyes, designed for a variety of purposes - from removal fatigue when working at the computer to highly specialized means for surgical ophthalmic operations. Usually drops are used in the following situations:

• Allergic reactions. Redness and swelling of the eyes - one of the typical manifestations of allergies, which can be caused by various provoking factors (food, pollen of plants, saliva of domestic animals);
• Bacterial infections. The main signs in the eyes of a bacterial infection occur especially often in children and people who do not follow the rules of personal hygiene. In most cases, eye drops with this disease contain an antibiotic that allows you to quickly cope with the disease;
• Viral infections. Especially often occur in preschool children due to weak immunity and frequent epidemics in kindergarten. The virus most often enters the body upon contact with the carrier, and the eye manifestations of the disease are one of the first signs of an ailment. The peculiarity of such means is the absence of antibiotics in the composition, which can only exacerbate the course of the disease;
• Consequences of mechanical damage. The human eye is a weakly protected organ that can be injured and damaged. The ingestion of even a small foreign body on the mucous membrane can cause a strong redness and swelling. Drops in this case are necessary not only for the removal of symptoms, but also for additional moisturizing of the conjunctiva;
• Infection with fungus. Quite a rare pathology, in which various scabs, plaques can appear on the visual apparatus, as well as puffiness and pain while moving the eyeball;
• Disease prevention and hydration. It is with the help of drops that you can normalize the operation of lacrimal ducts, relieve fatigue after prolonged work or dry eye syndrome, which occurs in a number of ophthalmic ailments;
• Preparation and operation. During surgical manipulations, the use of drops is mandatory not only for the procedure itself, but also for reducing the risk of complications.

Categorically it is not recommended to apply several types of drops at once without the doctor's prescription. This can cause a conflict between the active substances of the drugs, which will lead to aggravation of the disease.

Features of preparations

In most cases, eye drops have a complex effect, which allows you to remove several symptoms at once. For example, quality drugs in addition to the main purpose of the following functions:

• Remove swelling and inflammation, which occur in almost all eye diseases;
• Reduce discomfort and discomfort when moving the eyeball and eyelids;
• Additionally moisturize the conjunctiva and restore the functioning of the lacrimal glands;
• Allow to prevent the development of complications and degenerative processes with such serious ailments as cataract, astigmatism or glaucoma.

Particular attention when choosing a drug should be given instructions. Many seemingly innocuous means for moisturizing and nourishing the eyes can cause serious consequences. For example, the frequently used "Albucid" drops contain sulfonamide in the composition, which can provoke a strong edema of the eyelids.

Especially cautiously it is necessary to apply drops if there is an individual intolerance or an allergy to components in structure. That is why it is so important before consulting the doctor to consult a doctor.

Classification of eye drops

All means for instillation can be divided into several large groups, depending on their main function. With several diseases, several drugs are used at once for faster recovery.

Antibacterial drops

It is the bacteria that cause many common ophthalmic diseases, for example, barley, furuncle or dacryocystitis.In addition, they can cause certain diseases of the eyelids (blepharitis) and conjunctivitis. Antibacterial drops are needed to treat infections of the visual apparatus and are the most common in pharmacology. They can contain antibiotics or sulfonamide derivatives in the composition. The effective effect of such drugs is to act on microorganisms, which allows to stop the spread of infection. Besides,antibacterial drops often incidentally relieve inflammation and puffiness, often found in diseases of this type.The remedy is always chosen strictly individually, depending on the type of bacteria and the clinical picture.

1. Among the drugsantibiotic-basedthe most common are Levomycetin, drugs based on tobramycin and levofloxacin, Tsipromed, Floxal.
2. Sulfanilamide dropswere invented much earlier, but today they do not lose their relevance. Albucid is one of the most famous drugs.

   Levomycetin - drops for the eyes.

Antiseptic preparations

The funds of this group were used in medicine as early as the beginning of the 18th century, but because of high efficiency they are still used today.The task of antiseptic means is to disinfect the structural elements of the eye apparatus, as well as operating instruments and hands during manipulation.Virtually all drops of this type have a complex effect, they show activity to most bacteria, fungi, numerous types of viruses. In addition, they are completely hypoallergenic, so they can be used even with strong individual sensitivity to other drugs.

In ophthalmology, antiseptic drops are used to prevent and treat blepharitis, conjunctivitis, inflammation of the cornea, and to prevent complications after burns and operations.

The most common means are Vitabakt and Okomistin, which can be used even for children and pregnant women.

Vitabact - antiseptic eye drops

In rare cases, after the use of antiseptic drops, painful sensations, profuse lacrimation, and also spasms of the eyelids may occur. In this case, you must cancel the drug.

Antiviral drops

There are a large number of viruses that affect the organs of vision.As a rule, such diseases are most often exposed to children who have not yet fully formed immunity. On the mechanism of action on the body, all antiviral drugs are divided into three large groups:

• Virulicide chemotherapeutic drugs. These are the strongest drops, which by means of chemical reactions destroy the virus. Most often used for herpes infection of the cornea in children and adults. The most famous tool is Oftan Idu. When taking these drops, it is important to remember that they slow the regenerative processes in the cornea, so they should be canceled immediately after the condition improves during the illness;
• Antiviral drops of the interferon group. Means of this type have an effect on the virus by natural cells of the body, which have antiviral and immunostimulating effects. Interferon in ophthalmology is actively used to treat inflammation of the conjunctiva or cornea, adenovirus and herpesvirus of various types. The most common drops of this group are Ophthalmoferon;
• Immunomodulators. These are the so-called drugs of the group of interferon inducers. Their task is to stimulate the body's natural forces, which leads to the production of antibodies directly by the immune system. Such drugs are contraindicated for people suffering from autoimmune diseases. Most often used eye drops Aktipol and Poludan.

  Ophthalmoferon - antiviral drops

The choice of an antiviral drug depends not only on the type of virus that caused the disease, but also on the patient's own protective forces. Therefore, the appointment of drops should occur only after the delivery of all necessary tests.

Antihistamine drops for eyes

These are the most commonly used drugs in ophthalmic practice. According to statistics, over the past few years, cases of allergy in the eyes have increased several times, both in children and adults. For the treatment of this disease the following groups of drugs are used:

• Membrane stabilizing agents. They are necessary to prevent the release of active substances from mast cells by stabilizing the membranes in this structure. This is especially necessary, as a rule, not for prevention, but for the treatment of allergies. The common drops of this group are Lecrolin (Cromgexal) and Zaditen (Ketotifen);
• Histamine receptor blockers. They prevent the interaction of active components of allergic inflammation with histamine receptors, which can control the occurrence of an unpleasant reaction. Such substances are used more often for the prevention of allergies, for example, in the seasonal period. The most famous drops of this group are Allergodil and Opatanol.

  Lecrolin - antihistamine drops for the eyes

Vasoconstrictors

They are used more often for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis, as well as for certain respiratory diseases.The active substance droplets affect the vessels at the site of application, which can reduce the redness and inflammation of the capillaries. The most effective remedies are Vizin, Montevizine and other drugs of this group.

Vizin is a vasoconstrictor

Important! The peculiarity of vasoconstrictive drops is the development of dependence on the use of the agent. To avoid this problem, it is recommended to change the drug as often as possible.

Hormonal (steroid) drugs

Usually, these are anti-inflammatory drops needed during an allergy, with antibacterial or viral infection.Due to the hormonal nature, they are ways to suppress inflammation at the cellular level. In addition, complex drops have become widespread, which can be used in a wide variety of cases. For example, Sofradex and Teborox, which contain not only a steroid, but also two types of antibiotic that makes these drugs the most effective for the treatment of most inflammatory infectious diseases.

In addition to traditional drops, which are prescribed almost universally, there are several drugs needed to treat serious ophthalmic diseases - glaucoma and cataracts.They have a special chemical composition that affects the necessary structural elements depending on the disease.As a rule, these are holimimetics or prostaglandin analogues for reducing eye pressure, as well as drops of the group beta-adrenoblockers and inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase to suppress the production of aqueous fluid in the ophthalmic apparatus

Софрадекс - hormonal drops

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Afakiya eyes - is the absence of the lens in the eye

The treatment of barley on the eye with folk remedies is presented in this material.

How to get rid of allergies before your eyes - medications are described in this article.

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Recommendations for use

To achieve a greater effect, the correct use of the drug is of no small importance, especially with regard to young children. It is important to remember about some points:

1. It is undesirable to apply several types of drops at once, if this is not the appointment of a doctor. In the event that it is necessary to take two or more drugs at the same time, the procedure should be performed at an interval of 15 minutes, so that the drug has time to suck in the blood;
2. The amount of the drug and the duration of application is completely dependent on the active pharmacological substance;
3. As with any other medical product, the rules for storing drops are required. Usually this is a dark place with room temperature;
4. During treatment it is recommended to give up contact lenses in favor of glassesto achieve a stronger therapeutic effect;
5. Be sure to observe the sterility of the bottle, use only disposable cotton swabs or disks to treat the skin around the eyes during the procedure. The pipette should only touch directly with the drops.

When performing the procedure for young children, it is very important to put them in a comfortable position to facilitate the process for you and the baby. Plus, it is recommended to turn this moment into a game, so that afterwards drops do not cause unpleasant emotions in the baby.

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conclusions

To date, developed dozens of different drops for the eyes. They differ not only in the type of effect, but in the therapeutic mechanism. That is why it is very important to choose the most optimal means to speed up the process of treatment. Plus to this, it is necessary to remember that if there are any complications or the drug does not affect the course of the disease in any way, you need to change the active substance.

Also read about such drugs as Arutimol and Normax.