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Eye Drops for Pink Eye – Use, Side Effects, Antibiotic, Over the Counter and Ointments for Conjunctivitis

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Are you looking for information on drops for pinkeye? Get a list of the best eye drops for pink eye or conjunctivitis, antibiotic, over the counter and ointments for pink eye. You will also know some side effects and general use of these drops for eyes with conjunctivitis.

Eye Drops for Pink Eye – Use, Side Effects, Antibiotic, Over the Counter and Ointments for Conjunctivitis - Eye Drops
•Erythromycin/Ilotycin eye drop for conjunctivitis
  • Erythromycin/Ilotycin ointment
  • Neosporin eye drop that comes in brand names such as neomycin, polymyxin and bacitracin 
  • Gentamycin/ Garamycin eye drops
  • Cirpoflaxin (Ciloxan) eye drop which is used both for corneal ulcers and conjunctivitis
  • TobraDex (Tobra plus examethasone)
  • Ofloxacin
  • Tobramycin, (add 1-2 drops  between 2-3 hours and if the infection is serious, add 2 drops hourly)
  • Sulfonamides that include Bleph-10 or Sulamyd

some of the over the counter eye drops that can help include:

  • Eyebright Drops – Wisdom of the Ages
  • Similasan Irritated Eye Relief 

Antibiotic Eye Drops for Pink Eye and Ointments

Antibiotic eye drops for pink eye are often prescribed when patients are suffering for bacterial pink eyes or conjunctivitis. They are known to help cure pink eye by killing the bacteria that causes pink eye. It is worthwhile to note that antibiotic eye drops for pink eye and ointments should be prescribed by a doctor.

The most common recommended antibiotic eyed drops are the chloramphenicol and fusidic acid.  The chloramphenicol is good for severe contagious pinkeye where you will have to use one after 2hours for the first two days of its use and then one drop after 4 hours for five days. Even if symptoms improve after 5 days, continue using it for two more days.

On the other hand, fusidic acid antibiotic for pink eye is often prescribed for people who cannot use chloramphenicol as an alternative. Pregnant women, elderly people and children will often be given fusidic acid.

Some of other commonly used types and brands of antibiotic eye drops include Tobramycin, Sulfonamides and Polytrim. However, there are newer antibiotic eye drops for pink eye such as Ciloxan, Ocuflex, Quixin and Vigamox, which are increasingly prescribed due to the low resistance from bacteria that cause conjunctivitis. Some types of eye drops that contain antibiotics include Polymyxin Sulfate/TMP op. solution, Sulfacet Sodium 10% op. solution, Bacitracin op. ointment. There have been reports that examethasone 0.1% op. suspension causes. We cannot comment on this observation. Kindly let your doctor confirm the allegations if they are true.

Over the Counter Eye Drops For Pink Eye

Pink Eye Remedies – Natural and Home Remedies for Pinkeye or Conjunctivitis -
Over the counter medication for conjunctivitis or pink eye – Similasan.

Bacterial pinkeye is best treated with the antibiotic eye drops, ointments and medications. However, if you have viral pinkeye, you might need to go for over the counter eye drops for pink eye or conjunctivitis. For instance, Similasan Pink Eye Relief is an over the counter eye drop that can help relief the redness, discharge, and burning sensation in children and adults. Other over the counter eye drops for pink eye that contain decongestants include tetrahydrozoline (Visine) which can help in reduction of eye redness. However, ensure you do not have high blood pressure, glaucoma or difficult in urinating if you are to use any decongestants sold over the counter. Discuss with your doctor before trying them if you have any underlying disease you are not certain if it will have negative impacts or not.

Over the Counter Antihistamine Tablets

If you are looking for over the counter antihistamine medications, you could go for tablets such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), loratadine (Claritin) and chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton). Except for loratadine (Claritin), some of the antihistamine can cause drowsiness and you need to be careful if you intend to use them and drive.

How to Use Conjunctivitis Eye Drops

Whether you buy over the counter eye drops for pink eyes or go for description, each of these eye drops will come with their own instructions to use them. These instructions will let you know the correct dose to use (number of drops for instance) as well as how often you use the specific eye drop for conjunctivitis you have gone for.

Eye Drops for Pink Eye – Use, Side Effects, Antibiotic, Over the Counter and Ointments for Conjunctivitis
How to use eye drops and eye ointment.
  • Wash your hands before using eye drops for pink eyes and while using them, put them on a clean surface to avoid them picking other infections.
  • Lie on your back as if you are looking towards the ceiling or ensure your head is tilted backwards.
  • With your eyes open, slightly pull the lower eyelid downwards by applying pressure just below the eyelashes to form a pouch like shape in your eye.
  • While holding the conjunctivitis eye drop about 2cm from your eye, put the recommended one drop to the pouch shape like.
  • Begin to release your lower eyelid slowly
  • Close the eye for two minutes without rubbing or blinking
  • If you are told to use several drops, you need to wait for at least 3 to 5 minutes and repeat the process until you have added the required number of drops into your eyes.
  • While using any conjunctivitis eye drop, ensure it does not directly touch your eye to avoid contamination.
  • Since it is impossible to stop all the kinds of contamination, you should dispose your eye drop after a month of using it.

Ointments for conjunctivitis are used the same way as the drop. However, blinking might help in spreading it. Furthermore, it will interfere with your visibility for about 20 minutes. It is the best option for children.

Side Effects of Eye Drops for Pink Eyes

Eye drops for pink eyes are the most common way of treating bacterial or allergic pink eye. However, about 10% of people who have infections or contagious pink eye tend to suffer from various serious side effects.  A few the side effects of these eye drops for pink eyes have been noted that include the following:

  • Blurry Vision – Immediately after using eye drops for pink eye, you might have a blurry vision for a short way. Ensure you are not driving any machine immediately after using them.
  • Prolonged Irritation – Some patients have reported prolonged irritations as a side effect of eyed drops for pink eyes. It is normal to be irritated for a few minutes after using the eye drops. However, if it is prolonged, notify your professional medical care personnel who recommended the eye drops you are using. If you purchased over the counter eye drops for conjunctivitis, you should discontinue their use.
  • Redness and stinging eyes – Other side effect of eye drops for conjunctivitis is eye redness and stinging. This has been noted to people who are sensitive to the specific eye drop that was recommended.

Other than the above side effects of eye drops for pink eyes, most medical professionals discourage the use of contact lenses while still using eye drops for conjunctivitis since the various ingredients that these eye drops have might accumulate on the contact lenses and cause sensitivity, irritation, infection or allergic reactions.

Precautions for Using Eye Drops for Pink Eye and Ointments

If you wear contact lenses, it is highly advisable you avoid ointments, inquire if you can wear your contact lenses while still treating conjunctivitis, ask if you can use them with soft contact lenses (hydrogel) and if you use disposable contact lenses, dispose them and get new ones during and after treatment to avoid re-infection. People who wear permanent lenses need to ask opticians on what to do.

Conclusion

Whether you are using over the counter pink eye medication or the prescribed antibiotic eye drops, you need to know the potential risks of using them. Ensure you follow the given instructions and in case of anything that feels abnormal, ensure you see your doctor. Finally, combining these mediations and some of the home remedies for pinkeye will ensure you get better soon.

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