How Often Can You Use Artificial Tears?

Artificial tears are a great thing! A lot of dry eye can be treated with just simply artificial tears. It also helps that artificial tears can be pretty cheap as well! But there IS such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Using artificial tears too frequently can actually cause the eyes to dry out more! There are two main types of artificial tears: preservative-based artificial tears and preservative free artificial tears. If you use preservative-based artificial tears more than 4-6 times a day, the preservative in the bottle will actually progressively irrigate and inflame the eyes.

Preservative free artificial tears can be used too frequently as well. The effect is similar to if you wash your hands too frequently; the hands start to dry out causing “dishpan hands.” The tear film that sits on the surface of the eye protecting the surface actually consists of multiple layers. The bulk of the tear film is the water layer that we associate the most with tears. Right on the surface, however, is an oily layer that helps prevents that watery layer from evaporating away. Disappearance of this oily layer leads to dry eyes. If used more than every 1-2 hours, preservative free artificial tears can actually wash away this oily layer and cause the eyes to dry out.

If you do have the urge to use eye drops more frequently, it’s best to talk with your eye care provider about different artificial tears or treatments. Otherwise, don’t make your dry eye worse by using artificial tears too often.

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