Do Dry Eye Drops Have Side Effects?

So you’re taking a dry eye medication such as Xiidra or Restasis… Great! These drops work very well for many people! By tackling the inflammation on the surface of the eye, the eye is allowed to heal up, become more comfortable, and improve fluctuating vision. But can these drops cause problems?

Everyone taking eye drops can experience certain side effects right after putting the eye drop in their eyes. The most common thing that people feel is a burning sensation. And some drops burn more than others (depending on the ingredients and the pH of the eye drop). Unfortunately, the dry eye medications, Restasis and Xiidra, happen to burn a lot! This burning sensation isn’t harmful, it is just uncomfortable. But fortunately, this burning sensation is only temporary and wears off after about a minute.

The second common side effect for dry eye drops is blurred vision. Right after putting in the eye drops, vision can become blurry for the next few minutes. The mediation in dry eye drops is delivered in a thick liquid that coats the surface of the eye and allows for plenty of time for the medication to be absorbed into the eye. The downside is that it is harder to see through this thick liquid and vision becomes blurry. These eye drops are only taken twice a day, therefore, it is best to find a few good minutes twice a day where you don’t have to do any critical reading.

Most of what people experience taking dry eye drops are short-term temporary side-effects. Understanding that these effects are normal makes it easier to put up with these inconveniences as you wait for the eye drops to provide significant dry eye relief.

Related Articles