Many people in this area are experiencing more eye problems than ever. There are a few reasons the problems may be occurring. The hot dry weather has caused a lot of the problems. Without the rain to clean the air, there are many more chemicals and dust this summer. Normally the rain takes care of the contaminants and keeps them to a minimum. This year people who do not usually have problems have been bothered by the larger levels of pollutants in the air. This accounts for the people with allergic conjunctivitis. These people will definitely benefit from an eye drop.

A second category of red eye suffers are dry eye patients. These people often don’t realize that watery eyes can be a symptom of dry eyes. The reason for this is that the tear glands will over produce the watery component. The other components are the mucus layer and oily layer. If these get out of balance the tear film evaporates much to quickly and causes itch and irritation. These people could also benefit from treatment.

To treat the irritation most people get an eye drop that promises to get the red out. That is actually the worst thing to do. These eye drops contain a medicine called a vasoconstrictor. They also have very little or no moisturizers. They actually constrict the blood vessels. This only provides a short time cosmetic fix with no long term solution. If you stop using them you experience rebound redness and this may actually be worse than the first problem.

A better solution is an artificial tear. There are many good ones on the market including Optive and Refresh. These drops replace the missing tears and help the eye wash away the irritants. A second option is a drop called Zaditor. It once required a prescription but in Jan. 2007 it was approved for OTC. This drop is good for the allergy sufferers.

Using OTC products can only treat mild problems. If you are not getting relief after a few days be sure and see your eye doctor. You could be having a more severe allergy, an infection, or a foreign body in the eye. Also if you are having severe pain and light sensitivity see your eye doctor right away. These can be signs of a more severe problem. If you do not have an eye doctor, Dr. Lisa Green-Felber and the staff of Jemison Eye Care will be happy to schedule an appointment. Please call them at 205-688-1010 .