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Question: I started using artificial tears called Refresh Plus yesterday (probably known as Refresh Tears in India). When I put it in the morning I felt fine and it relieved my dry eye symptoms.
However, when I used it again at night (after about 10 hours or more), it gave me this burning sensation in my left eye all of a sudden. Right before applying it, I had washed my eyes several times with tap water.
I got scared, quickly washed it out, applied it again (hoping to alleviate the burning sensation), felt even more irritated, and washed it out again. It felt very painful last night but the burning sensation in my left eye faded and it's fine now.
I'm currently in a cold country and the wind keeps drying out my eyes, I need to use artificial tears but I'm afraid it might give me that burning sensation again. I consulted the ophthalmologist who told me to use Refresh Plus and he said I probably got some kind of infection or tiny scar while washing my eyes several times with tap water. He also suggested that I stop using it if I feel uncomfortable but also mentioned that Refresh Tears is very safe and cleaner than tap water.
About two hours ago I tried using Refresh Tears for my right eye because it didn't irritate my right eye that much when I used it last night. It felt okay and seemed to help a bit so I applied it again awhile ago after taking a nap..... It was different from two hours ago..... It caused slight irritation (not as bad as it did to my left eye last night) and now I'm totally confused.....
I have a few specific questions regarding this situation:
1. Why does it work well one minute and give that burning sensation the next? Do you think the burning sensation in my left eye occurred because it was mixed with tap water? Awhile ago, I did not use any tap water when applying it to my right eye and it is SLIGHTLY irritating.
2. When the artificial tears give me the burning sensation, is it actually doing something harmful to my Sclera or other parts of the eye? The ophthalmologist said the burning sensation itself might FEEL like it but no harm is done…..
I understand Refresh Plus (Refresh Tears) are safe because it doesn’t have preservatives. (though it says that very rare side effects like pain or irritation can occur) I’m just confused why that burning sensation occurs from time to time and what I can do about it… Thank you.
Thank you very much in advance.
However, when I used it again at night (after about 10 hours or more), it gave me this burning sensation in my left eye all of a sudden. Right before applying it, I had washed my eyes several times with tap water.
I got scared, quickly washed it out, applied it again (hoping to alleviate the burning sensation), felt even more irritated, and washed it out again. It felt very painful last night but the burning sensation in my left eye faded and it's fine now.
I'm currently in a cold country and the wind keeps drying out my eyes, I need to use artificial tears but I'm afraid it might give me that burning sensation again. I consulted the ophthalmologist who told me to use Refresh Plus and he said I probably got some kind of infection or tiny scar while washing my eyes several times with tap water. He also suggested that I stop using it if I feel uncomfortable but also mentioned that Refresh Tears is very safe and cleaner than tap water.
About two hours ago I tried using Refresh Tears for my right eye because it didn't irritate my right eye that much when I used it last night. It felt okay and seemed to help a bit so I applied it again awhile ago after taking a nap..... It was different from two hours ago..... It caused slight irritation (not as bad as it did to my left eye last night) and now I'm totally confused.....
I have a few specific questions regarding this situation:
1. Why does it work well one minute and give that burning sensation the next? Do you think the burning sensation in my left eye occurred because it was mixed with tap water? Awhile ago, I did not use any tap water when applying it to my right eye and it is SLIGHTLY irritating.
2. When the artificial tears give me the burning sensation, is it actually doing something harmful to my Sclera or other parts of the eye? The ophthalmologist said the burning sensation itself might FEEL like it but no harm is done…..
I understand Refresh Plus (Refresh Tears) are safe because it doesn’t have preservatives. (though it says that very rare side effects like pain or irritation can occur) I’m just confused why that burning sensation occurs from time to time and what I can do about it… Thank you.
Thank you very much in advance.
Brief Answer:
It is normal no need to worry.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to Health care Magic
I am Dr. Dadapeer K, an ophthalmologist and I will be answering your question.
I reviewed your history and I understand your concern. No need to be worried, I will explain you answers for your concerns.
It seems from the history that you are having irritation following instilling Refresh tears eye drops.
Normally refresh tears are very safe eye drops and they are very effective in treating dryness, eye irritation...
Most of the eye drops cause slight stinging sensation or irritation on instilling and this goes off in few seconds. Artificial tears eyes drops like refresh tears are not known to cause this. But rarely they also irritation. This can be because of response of conjunctiva to the eye drop itself or to the preservative.
Few of my patients do complain of this, I usually advice them to continue it and if it is not getting relived I change it to other pharmacological content. I usually go for other artificial tears like Lubrex.
This irritation will not cause any problem to sclera or other structures, hence no need to be worried.
Hence I advice you not to worry and if the irritation does not resolve you can change to some other brand.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Do write back to me for further questions.
Thank you
With regards
It is normal no need to worry.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome to Health care Magic
I am Dr. Dadapeer K, an ophthalmologist and I will be answering your question.
I reviewed your history and I understand your concern. No need to be worried, I will explain you answers for your concerns.
It seems from the history that you are having irritation following instilling Refresh tears eye drops.
Normally refresh tears are very safe eye drops and they are very effective in treating dryness, eye irritation...
Most of the eye drops cause slight stinging sensation or irritation on instilling and this goes off in few seconds. Artificial tears eyes drops like refresh tears are not known to cause this. But rarely they also irritation. This can be because of response of conjunctiva to the eye drop itself or to the preservative.
Few of my patients do complain of this, I usually advice them to continue it and if it is not getting relived I change it to other pharmacological content. I usually go for other artificial tears like Lubrex.
This irritation will not cause any problem to sclera or other structures, hence no need to be worried.
Hence I advice you not to worry and if the irritation does not resolve you can change to some other brand.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Do write back to me for further questions.
Thank you
With regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju
Dear Dr.Dadapeer K,
Thank you for reply. Your answers regarding Refresh Tears were very helpful. I appreciate it.
I just have one more question and this is regarding the retina.
About a week ago I went to another eye clinic to get my eyes examined. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have cataracts and glaucoma. The doctor ran a couple of tests including fluorescent angiography and optical coherence tomography. The exam results showed that my eyes are fine.
The following questions are regarding the possibility of retinal detachment.
This afternoon, I looked up at the sky (cloudy) and saw many clear, white, cell-like particles. I've had eye floaters for sometime now but the ones I saw in the sky were different. When I looked down at the ground or other surfaces they weren't there anymore but when I looked up at the sky again, I could see a lot of cell-like particles floating around.
1. Is it normal to see many cell-like particles in the sky on a cloudy day?
2. Both fluorescent angiography and optical coherence tomography results were normal. Aren't the two tests good enough to determine if my retina is healthy?
3. Is there any possibility of retinal attachment based on the description?
4. I looked at the cloudy sky several times (and for a long time every time I looked) to observe the particles. Should I be concerned about the amount of UV rays that my eyes absorbed?
In addition, I understand people who experience retinal detachments see LINES or SHADOWS??
1. I'd like to know what kind of "line" or "shadow" experts are referring to. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
2. They also say people who experience retinal detachments see flashing lights. Does it occur once or twice? How do you tell if it's actually RETINAL DETACHMENT?
3. Is there any other EYE EXAM you think I should do or should I just forget about random lines I sometimes see?
Thank you very much!
Previous follow-up question:
Dr. Dadapeer K, I don't think the exam I had was fluorescent angiography.
The result packet includes two "FUNDUS PHOTO"s, and the doctor did not dilate my pupils when he ran the test. I'm not sure what it's called but I just looked into the machine and strong round flash light came out. I think it was just a fundus camera.
So the two tests were FUNDUS CAMERA + MACHINE USED TO MEASURE MY MACULAR THICKNESS
Thank you for reply. Your answers regarding Refresh Tears were very helpful. I appreciate it.
I just have one more question and this is regarding the retina.
About a week ago I went to another eye clinic to get my eyes examined. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have cataracts and glaucoma. The doctor ran a couple of tests including fluorescent angiography and optical coherence tomography. The exam results showed that my eyes are fine.
The following questions are regarding the possibility of retinal detachment.
This afternoon, I looked up at the sky (cloudy) and saw many clear, white, cell-like particles. I've had eye floaters for sometime now but the ones I saw in the sky were different. When I looked down at the ground or other surfaces they weren't there anymore but when I looked up at the sky again, I could see a lot of cell-like particles floating around.
1. Is it normal to see many cell-like particles in the sky on a cloudy day?
2. Both fluorescent angiography and optical coherence tomography results were normal. Aren't the two tests good enough to determine if my retina is healthy?
3. Is there any possibility of retinal attachment based on the description?
4. I looked at the cloudy sky several times (and for a long time every time I looked) to observe the particles. Should I be concerned about the amount of UV rays that my eyes absorbed?
In addition, I understand people who experience retinal detachments see LINES or SHADOWS??
1. I'd like to know what kind of "line" or "shadow" experts are referring to. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
2. They also say people who experience retinal detachments see flashing lights. Does it occur once or twice? How do you tell if it's actually RETINAL DETACHMENT?
3. Is there any other EYE EXAM you think I should do or should I just forget about random lines I sometimes see?
Thank you very much!
Previous follow-up question:
Dr. Dadapeer K, I don't think the exam I had was fluorescent angiography.
The result packet includes two "FUNDUS PHOTO"s, and the doctor did not dilate my pupils when he ran the test. I'm not sure what it's called but I just looked into the machine and strong round flash light came out. I think it was just a fundus camera.
So the two tests were FUNDUS CAMERA + MACHINE USED TO MEASURE MY MACULAR THICKNESS
Brief Answer:
Your retina is fine and no more tests are required.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.
Please find the responses as below.
1.It is normal to see these particle like shadows and no need to worry about them.
2.The normal tests in the form of normal fundus photo and normal optical coherence tomography indicate normal retina.
3. There is no possibility of retinal detachment.
4. No need to be worried about the UV light exposure as our eyes have protective mechanism to filter these rays.
Retinal detachment will present with sudden onset of flashes, floaters with painless loss of vision. You are not having this problem and no more tests are required.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Thank you
Your retina is fine and no more tests are required.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.
Please find the responses as below.
1.It is normal to see these particle like shadows and no need to worry about them.
2.The normal tests in the form of normal fundus photo and normal optical coherence tomography indicate normal retina.
3. There is no possibility of retinal detachment.
4. No need to be worried about the UV light exposure as our eyes have protective mechanism to filter these rays.
Retinal detachment will present with sudden onset of flashes, floaters with painless loss of vision. You are not having this problem and no more tests are required.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Thank you
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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