The boy almost went blind due to long-term misuse of eye drops! Many people have these misunderstandings!

"How can I tell my child that his future life may be heading towards darkness step by step..."

Haohao, a 10-year-old boy, suffers from allergic conjunctivitis. His eyes itch in the spring. To save trouble, his mother bought him some eye drops. The pharmacist originally advised not to use them for more than two weeks, but due to repeated inflammation, his mother used them for half a year.

Although his eyes were less itchy after taking the medicine, Haohao developed symptoms such as eye swelling, headache, vomiting, and increasingly blurred vision. He went to the hospital for a check-up and was diagnosed with late-stage glaucoma in both eyes, optic nerve atrophy, and cataracts in both eyes.

The doctor who received him felt sorry for Haohao's experience and stressed: Never abuse eye drops, especially those containing hormones!

Image source: CCTV Finance

My eyes are dry, tired, red, and itchy... Whenever I feel uncomfortable, I put eye drops in. If one drop doesn't work, I use two drops. I'm afraid many people have developed this habit.

However, eye drops are in close contact with the eyeball after all, so be careful when using them, especially eye drops with the following words, which should not be used for a long time:

❶The names of medicines contain words such as "松", "扑", "龙", etc.

The presence of these three words indicates that the eye drops contain glucocorticoids, such as cortisone eye drops, prednisolone eye drops, and fluorometholone eye drops. This type of eye drops has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and immune-suppressing effects, which can reduce inflammation, but the side effects are also very large (Haohao uses this type of hormone-containing eye drops):

👀Increased intraocular pressure or steroid-induced glaucoma, causing visual field loss and visual impairment;

👀Can cause hormonal cataracts and secondary fungal infections that may cause posterior subcapsular opacity of the lens;

👀Greatly affects visual function and even causes blindness.

❷Contains "neostigmine methylsulfate"

Many internet-famous eye drops contain this ingredient, such as the very popular Japanese eye drops, and the content is very high.

This ingredient has the effect of constricting the pupil and may effectively relieve eye fatigue in the short term, but frequent use can cause ciliary muscle dysfunction and lead to various eye diseases.

❸The ingredients include "tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride", "naphazoline hydrochloride" and "oxymetazoline hydrochloride"

This type of drug actually has the pharmacological effect of constricting blood vessels and belongs to the adrenaline class of drugs. It is particularly effective in removing red blood streaks after use, but this "reduction of redness" is only temporary and is prone to recurrence.

Frequent use can increase intraocular pressure and induce glaucoma.

❹ Pay attention to preservatives in ingredients

Common preservative ingredients in eye drops include:

🔸Quaternary ammonium salts: benzalkonium chloride, benzalkonium bromide;

🔸Hydroxybenzoic acid esters: methyl paraben, etc.

🔸Alcohols: tri-tert-butyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol;

🔸Organic mercury: thimerosal, mercuric nitrate benzene, etc.;

🔸Sorbic acid: potassium sorbate, sodium sorbate;

No matter how it is promoted, from a scientific point of view, as long as the eye drops are not disposable, they will contain some preservatives. However, as long as they are used properly and with caution, they will not cause harm.

However, if used for a long time and frequently, preservatives may damage the conjunctiva and tear film, causing drug-induced keratitis, conjunctivitis, dry eyes, etc.

❖Tips❖

This type of eye drops should not be used more than 6 times a day and should not be used continuously for more than one week.

❺The instructions say it can sterilize

This type of eye drops may contain antibiotic ingredients, which may destroy the normal flora of the eye and induce various eye diseases after use.

Myth 1: Put eye drops directly on the eyeball

I guess many people do this, but this posture is wrong.

The black eyeball has the most nerves and is the most sensitive. If you drop the drops directly on it, you will blink frequently, causing the liquid to flow away and reduce the efficacy. In addition, some drugs may also cause drug damage to the cornea when they come into direct contact with the black eyeball.

The correct posture is: gently pull down the lower eyelid to form a small sac, drop the eye drops into the small sac → close your eyes to allow the liquid medicine to have extensive contact with the eye tissue, and at the same time press the inner corners of the eyes (tear sac) on both sides with your fingers for 2 to 3 minutes to prevent the drug from flowing into the nasal cavity or mouth and increasing side effects.

Myth 2: The expiration date of eye drops = the usage period

Generally speaking, once eye drops are opened, they can be used for up to 4 weeks. Because eye drops are sterile preparations, once opened, they may be contaminated by microorganisms and deteriorate. However, many people probably don't know this and often use a bottle of eye drops for a long time.

Please note that the expiration date written on the instructions is the expiration date when the product is unopened, not the expiration date.

Myth 3: The whole family shares one bottle of eye drops

The whole family can take the same bottle of medicine, but never share the same bottle of eye drops. When applying eye drops, they may come into contact with the eyelids and eyelashes, which may contaminate the eye drops. The pathogenic factors of eye diseases in different people are different, and sharing is likely to cause cross infection.

Myth 4: Apply several drops each time

Many people use a lot of eye drops at a time. In fact, the conjunctival sac of the eye cannot hold so much drops, so one or two drops are enough each time. The important thing is to put them in the right place.

Myth 5: All greenhouse storage

After using up the eye drops, tighten the bottle cap to reduce the risk of contamination. Especially in the summer when the temperature is high, some eye drops should be refrigerated according to storage requirements.

But remember, if you are refrigerating eye drops, make sure the bottle cap is tightened before putting them in. It is best to tie it tightly with a plastic bag before putting them in.

Finally, a warm reminder: if you feel eye discomfort, be sure to go to the hospital for a check-up and take medication as prescribed by the doctor. Never use or misuse medicine, otherwise it may cause irreversible damage to our eyes.

Source: Doctor Youlai