Gel-based Artificial Tears May Solve Your Dry Eye

Not all artificial tears are created equal. There is a wide variety of different artificial tears. Preservative-free artificial tears are one type, but there is another type which comes in to play pretty frequently: Gel-based artificial tears.

It's actually very simple to describe the difference between normal artificial tears and gel-based artificial tears. As the name would suggest, gel-based artificial tears are much thicker than normal artificial tears. Because these tears are thicker, they last for a much longer time on the surface of the eye. Some patients with less relief from normal artificial tears may benefit from switching to the gel-based variety to help keep the eye from drying out.

So why doesn't everyone get gel-based artificial tears? Well, it mostly comes down to a matter of preference. Gel-based tears do have some small differences which can be a little annoying. For one, right after putting the tear drop in the eye, you have a huge amount of thick tears on the surface of the eye. This can cause some blurry vision for a few minutes. Also, thick tears will leave the eyes extra crusty throughout the course of the day. Because of these annoyances, people really have a love-hate relationship with gel-based artificial tears.

As with most things artificial tears related, gel-based tears also exist with lots of options. If you still need preservative-free drops, preservative-free gel-based tears exist. So try it out, maybe they are the perfect drops for you.

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