Storing eye drops in the heat

[KBIOW]

Good morning,

I just wondered what the rules are regarding eye drops and storing them when it’s hot…

the coolest room in our house yesterday was still 24 degrees…. Should I be storing my eye drops in the fridge or is that to cold?

The drops are

Pilocarpine

Cosopt

Lantanaprost - the unopened ones of these are kept in the fridge already.

thanks in advance.

[muddledme]

Hello KBIOW,

My eye drops come inside boxes containing a patient advice leaflet, this should tell you if your various drops need to be kept at a certain temperature or not.

If you do not have these leaflets then you can look up each eye medication on line or even ask a pharmacy.

If the drops can be stored in the fridge then the advice is usually to put them on the shelf of the fridge door so that they cannot be accidently frozen.

It is possible to buy small brightly coloured insulated pouches called FRIO from Glaucoma UK or on line, these can store drops for up to approx 2 days and can be very useful when out and about. The pouches only need water to work and are simply reactivated without a fridge every few days if needed.

Personally I find cool eye drops soothing and they give me confidence that they will hit the correct target!

Best wishes

[KBIOW in reply to muddledme]

thank you for your reply.

It just states they need to be kept below 25 degrees… it’s 28 in the house today…

I have put them in the fridge for today.

[Reformer in reply to KBIOW]

Like Muddledme I use the Frio pouches when I travel, and keep my drops in the fridge at home.

[HMThai in reply to Reformer]

My eyes drops live in the fridge!🤣

Good morning from Thailand...the eye drops are always kept and stored in the upper cooler part of the fridge (the thermometer under the house reads 30°C at 10am..🤣!)

My way of inserting eye drops!..My eye drops are "PRESERVATIVE FREE".... meaning without (BAK) Benzalkonium chloride!

Tilt head.... ..look upwards....At night I put eye drops by lying down looking upwards... insert eye drops by raising upper eye brow.... when sitting upright best to do with lower eye brow still looking upwards......keep eyes open for 1 minute or so (try not to blink)... then a little tissue and do gentle punctual occlusion (Gently squeezing the tear ducts

(I do it with second or third finger!!).... This is to prevent residual medication going down the nose into the sinuses and the blood stream....... wait for 3/4 minutes... here have good thoughts...or a quick chill out music!🎶🎶...... Repeat the same again for second lot of eye drops....Afterwards I spray the eyes (keeping them closed with mixture of saline solution and water)...... wipe dry.... and whalllah!!....all done!!

.... before going to bed and when I can remember 🤣🤣.... tiny bit of organic coconut oil dabbed gently with a finger on the Eye lids and under the eyes..to keep them moist.....

Our eye conditions are a much more than what is seen by the Glaucoma specialists...

By this I mean.. because our optic nerve are connected to the brain....

From the enclosed link

"Which side of brain affects which eye?"

Two hemispheres:

Each half receive sensory information though, curiously, from the opposite side of the body. Thus the right eye goes to the left brain and vice versa. The exception is the nose: the right nostril goes to the right brain....

essilorusa.com/newsroom/rig....

Have a read and understand the fascinating way our eye sight function and relay information to the brain!

The interesting thing from here is I am left handed (in sport and lifting etc) by birth but when I was young I was forced to write with right hand..(as left handed kids were not popular at school!!🤣🤣).......I am not Ambidextrous!!.....Be interesting what our community says about this!

Finally....My thoughts about Glaucoma are:

Emotional state

Central Nervous system

Oxygenation

Nutrition

Detoxification

Diet

Meditation

Attitude, Outlook and Insight!

Hope this is useful to all the readers!....It is normal to over react and over think (Me included!🤣)....

I speak very often to those moments and the song from the Beatles just came.... saying...'Let it Be!'

Love and hugs from Thailand!❤️❤️🤣!

[salla22 in reply to Reformer]

Read about frio, how many sockets can you store?being away for 6 weeks. I used the camping freezer packs last time. Travelled for 9 hours, liquid melted but still cold.

[Beecalmed in reply to KBIOW]

Like Muddledme I follow the advice on the advice sheet as each drop has different advice about best storage. I use Frio bags when I travel. I would use Frio bags if there was a sudden heatwave at home too if the advice says to store at room temperature. The bags stay cool for 48 hrs.

However,if you do decide to store in the fridge I would advise you to be vigilant with single dose phials as my fridge froze those solid on one occasion, and they were in the door in the warmer part of the fridge. The sheet says the phials shouldn’t be used once frozen so I had to get more prescription urgently. I think the smaller amount of fluid can freeze more quickly.

[Dumyat26]

I have always kept them in fridge (10 years) mainly because I discovered early on that they were easier to apply when cold as you feel the drop going in.

[PeterRabbit62]

Check with your pharmacist, on most you will find that kept at room temperature, I don't use lanatprost now but I never kept mine in the fridge when I was using it, always read the instructions in the box as well they should be updated regularly check with your pharmacist if needs be. Best wishes

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner]

If the temperature goes over room temperature which is 25 degrees, and you do not have a cool wallet, it will be fine to keep them in the door of the fridge.

Cool Wallets keep drops cool between 18 and 26 degrees, so if your drops need to be kept between 2-8 degrees, they need to be kept in the fridge, as a cool wallet will not keep them cool enough.

It is the heat and not the cold that can effect how well the drops work. If anyone has collected their prescription from the pharmacy and have kept them in an area of the house that is above 25 degrees for a day or 2, it is best to get back to their GP for a new prescription and then store them in the fridge.

Some drops do not have any special storage instructions but we always recommend keeping drops cool in this hot weather.

[KBIOW in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

Thanks Trish,

I kept the unopened Lantanaprost in the fridge as per the label.

Should I keep all my other spare unopened eye drops in the fridge I haven’t yet..….it’s now 22 degrees in the house so I am assuming that’s ok?

these are pilocarpine, cosopt, truspot, visco tears and lumigan?

Thanks again for your help.

Katy

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner]

Hi, You should check the Patient information leaflet for storage instructions, but as I mentioned, within the hot spell, keeping drops in the door of the fridge will be OK to do.

[KBIOW in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

thanks Trish, the leaflet just states do not store above 25 degrees.

Would you recommend keeping them in the fridge full time until it cools down? Do I need to take them out of the fridge for a while before using?

Thanks again, it’s all a bit new to me this.

Katy

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner in reply to KBIOW]

Keeping them in the fridge would be best during the hot spell. Keeping them out of the fridge for a while isn't necessary.

[Sufitzy]

hi

I keep I. The box I. A draw which mean the temp is pretty stable . But for heatwave or travel I use FRIO there are lots of sizes available on Amazon’s and they are great .