What’s the Difference Between Artificial Tears and Redness-Reducing Eye Drops?
Key takeaways:
If you have dry or red eyes, many over-the-counter (OTC) products are available to help control your symptoms.
Artificial tears are OTC products that try to mimic your natural tears. They can help with symptoms of dry eye.
Redness-reducing eye drops are OTC medications that temporarily tighten blood vessels in your eye. They help control eye redness, but they generally shouldn’t be used more than 3 days at a time.
Table of contents
If you’re someone who is irritated by allergens like pollen, you may be eager to see the spring allergy season come to a close. Congestion, a runny nose, and sneezing can all cause some serious hiccups in your daily routine. And in just a few months, once fall allergies come around, you have to go through it all over again.
The eye redness, itching, and burning that also commonly come along with your allergy symptoms can also make you feel pretty miserable. When this happens, wanting a source of relief is only natural. Over-the-counter (OTC) eye drops serve as a helpful option in these situations — and there are many options to choose from.
Two key groups of OTC eye products are artificial tears and redness-reducing eye drops. They both usually come in small bottles with similar packaging — so how do you tell them apart? When should one be used over the other?
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Here, we’ll compare artificial tears and redness-reducing eye drops.
What’s the difference between artificial tears and redness-reducing eye drops?
Artificial tears (lubricating eye drops) and redness-reducing eye drops are both OTC products that you can find online or on the shelves at your local pharmacy. But they each have distinct roles, so let’s dive into the differences.
Artificial tears
Artificial tears can help with symptoms of dry eye, which may or may not be caused by your surrounding environment. They can give your eyes some much-needed moisture as a form of treatment. They can also make your tears thicker or help create a protective layer over your eye.
But unlike many other eye drops, artificial tears don’t necessarily contain a medication. They contain chemicals like glycerin, carboxymethylcellulose, or polyethylene glycol that mimic your natural tears.
Here are some examples of artificial tear eye drop products:
Refresh Tears Lubricant Eye Drops (carboxymethylcellulose)
Blink Tears Lubricating Eye Drops (polyethylene glycol)
Systane Lubricant Eye Drops (polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol)
GenTeal Tears Eye Drops (dextran, glycerin, hypromellose)
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Artificial tear eye drops aren’t the only type of artificial tears. They are also available in thicker formulations, like ointments and gels. These thicker formulations can be applied at night for longer-lasting relief. Some contain preservatives and others are preservative-free.
There are many minor differences between each artificial tear product. It’s important to read each product’s label and talk to a pharmacist to see which one may be best for your situation.
Redness-reducing eye drops
Redness-reducing eye drops help control eye redness (bloodshot eyes). They usually contain an alpha agonist medication (naphazoline, tetrahydrozoline, or brimonidine). You may also hear naphazoline and tetrahydrozoline referred to as eye decongestants. These medications tighten blood vessels in your eyes to help them return to their normal color.
Many redness relief eye drops are stand-alone products, meaning they only have one active ingredient. But others are combined with a lubricant eye drop to prevent additional irritation. Here are some examples:
Visine Red Eye Comfort (tetrahydrozoline)
Lumify Redness Reliever (brimonidine)
Clear Eyes Redness Relief (naphazoline/glycerin)
Rohto Maximum Redness Relief (naphazoline/polysorbate 80)
Other combination products are also available, such as eye drops that package an alpha agonist and an antihistamine together. These products help with relief from additional eye symptoms, like itchiness. One example is Opcon-A Antihistamine and Redness Reliever Eye Drops (naphazoline/pheniramine).
Many homeopathic eye drops are also available that market themselves as redness relief eye drops. But these work differently than the other eye drops discussed here. A pharmacist can tell you more about homeopathic eye drops.
What’s the difference between artificial tears and saline eye drops?
Saline eye drops are OTC products that contain sodium chloride. They can help wash irritants out of your eye. They can also clean eye care products like contact lenses.
But when it comes to dry eye relief, saline eye drops may not be your best option. They’re sometimes used as a source of moisture for dry eye relief, but many healthcare professionals recommend using artificial tears instead. Unlike artificial tears, saline eye drops don’t mimic your natural tears.
How do you know which type of eye drops you need for allergies?
It mostly boils down to what symptoms that you have. For instance:
If you have dry eye, consider using artificial tears.
If you have red eyes, consider using a redness-reducing eye drop.
If you have dry and red eyes, consider trying artificial tears first. In some cases, eye redness is caused by dry eye. You could also try a redness-reducing eye drop that’s combined with a lubricant.
If you have dry or red eyes as well as other symptoms, another product may be a better option.
Keep in mind: There are many reasons your eyes could be dry or red. As a best practice, before you purchase any OTC product, it’s a safe bet to talk to a healthcare provider or pharmacist about your symptoms. Based on your situation, they can help you save time and money by choosing the most appropriate product from the get-go.
What are the risks of artificial tears?
Artificial tears are generally well-tolerated. But if you overuse them or use them for too long, that’s when problems are more likely to happen.
For instance, overusing artificial tears can hamper your eye’s natural ability to make tears, which can make you dependent on using them. They can also hide other possible reasons you may be having dry eye symptoms, such as an eye infection or a health condition like Sjogren’s syndrome.
How often can you use artificial tears?
You can use preservative-free artificial tears as often as you’d like. But if an artificial tear product has preservatives in it, it’s better to be more conservative. Try not to use artificial tears with preservatives more than 4 to 6 times per day. This is because preservatives may cause eye irritation, especially if used too frequently.
However, if you find yourself using artificial tears consistently for a long time, it’s a good idea to check in with your healthcare provider to see if anything else is going on.
What are the risks of redness-reducing eye drops?
The main risk of redness-reducing eye drops is rebound redness. This is when eye redness comes back — or gets worse — after you stop using them. You generally shouldn’t use redness-reducing eye drops for more than 72 hours (3 days) at a time because of this risk.
But this risk is mostly tied to naphazoline and tetrahydrozoline, not brimonidine. This is because brimonidine only affects the veins in your eyes. Naphazoline and tetrahydrozoline affect the arteries. Veins move blood without oxygen, and arteries move blood with oxygen. Cutting off your eye’s supply of oxygenated blood raises the risk for rebound redness.
No matter the product, it’s still recommended to only use these products for a short time. Intense or long-lasting eye redness may be a sign of something more serious, such as glaucoma, pink eye, or uveitis. And if you notice any bothersome symptoms, such as eye pain or vision changes, seek medical attention right away.
How often can you use redness-reducing eye drops?
When you use redness-reducing eye drops, you shouldn’t use them more than a few times per day. But the specific amount varies by product — many redness-reducing eye drops are available in the U.S. Before you start using a certain redness-reducing eye drop, it’s important to read the package directions to see what the recommended dosing is. A pharmacist can also help you understand what a safe dose looks like.
The bottom line
If you have dry or red eyes, many OTC products are available for you to consider using. Depending on your situation, you could use artificial tears for dry eye symptoms. You could also use a redness-reducing eye drop for some much-needed redness relief. But before you purchase any product or medication, it’s a good idea to check in with a pharmacist or healthcare provider for specific guidance.
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References
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