Long life dry eye drops

[Jbenson]

Have just discovered preservative free Hyco san drops for dry eyes. The good news is that they are sterile up to six months after opening. I sometimes need drops every day for a week and then not again for ages, which is wasteful and expensive. They come in an easy to use one drop non fiddly dispenser.

[Hidden]

Hi jbenson

That would be useful for me too. Like you, I do not need to use artificial tears all the time and I usually have to dispose of more than half the fluid. Although I get my drops free on prescription, I still do not like to waste them. The question is: How safe are they? Who is manufacturing them?

[Hidden]

I use Hylotear. Preservative and phosphate free. Also lasts 6 months from opening. My gp prescribed them but assume can be bought off shelf. Made by URSAPHARM Germany.contains sodium hyaluronate 0.1%. I've been using them a couple of years now I think and find them better than hypromellose drops both for long opening life and thicker fluid works better esp in winter. Dispenser is easy push on bottom of bottle.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That is interesting. eyesright. I have been using viscotears which originally were prescribed by my eye clinic and have since then got my repeat prescription from my GP. The trouble is , they have to be disposed off only 4 weeks after opening. I will be seeing my GP next Tuesday and will ask him. x

[StokeySue in reply to Hidden]

Nearly all eye drops are to be discarded by day 28, it's just the accepted safety limit if bacteria can get into the container

The single dose ones, such as Xailin keep for ages, but are expensive though handy to keep a couple on you

I've done some Googling

Hycosan is made by Scope Healthcare, who seem to be reputable, and the product is stocked by all major retailers such as Boots. This is the web site

scopehealthcare.co.uk/?ECPr...

Hycosan is listed in the British National Formulary (BNF), as a pharmaceutical product, which is reassuring, but the NHS will not pay for prescriptions, this seems to be because drops using hyaluronate as the thickener are more expensive than hypromellose based drops, and NICE hasn't perceived any advantage in the formulation. They don't seem to have taken the dispenser into account, as far as I can tell

I might try them, as like the rest of you I only need them intermittently and I'm intrigued by the Click dispenser. I moan constantly that my prescription eye drops are badly packaged in the cheapest possible plastic bottles, and they therefore tend to dispense nothing or a flood A better dispenser is clearly required.

[Koalajane in reply to StokeySue]

my optician advised me to use them. We don’t get eye drops prescribed in my area

[StokeySue]

Interesting - it’s the click dispensing system that makes them last that long I suppose. I’ve been using the single dose packs, like they have in the clinic, but expensive and not terribly convenient

[Sophiecat1]

I have a prescription from an optician for these drops I was told to give her prescription to my GP to get these free is this possible I am O AP

[StokeySue]

Check with your pharmacist or GP. When I checked I didn’t think the NHS would pay, and I bought some, but presumably your optician thinks they are available on the NHS, free to us oldies, or there would be no point getting a prescription as you can just buy them over the counter.

I like them, the click dispenser takes a couple of goes but is great when you get the hang of it

[Koalajane]

they are so easy to use unlike the antibiotic drops, kept in the fridge, that I have to use 4 times a day. Each time is a battle as I can’t squeeze the plastic bottle! I