WHY PRESERVATIVE FREE Several television ad campaigns encourage
patients to inform their doctors and pharmacists about all the
medications they are taking in order to avoid harmful drug
interactions. This is good advice for patients on artificial
tears as well. An ocular medication is much more than just the
active drug it contains. Its other components may present
difficulties for some patients. This is especially true for
patients who are using artificial tear products, suffer chronic
eye diseases like dry eye or glaucoma, or require post-surgery
dosing of medication drops. Eye drops are composed of unique
mixtures of: the active drug and its drug delivery system a
viscosity increasing agent a vehicle by which all the above
ingredients are Of these, it’s the preservative that is most
often considered to be the culprit in damaging the top layer of
.the cornea leading to disruption when drops are used often.
This sequence leaves the surface of the eye unable to keep the
tear film in place and can lead to ocul