There are many days when I am so tired that my eyes are bloodshot red. So for a good part of my working life I have used eye drops close to every day during the week. One day I was using eye drops at work and I put a lot of drops in each eye. My coworker told me that I would ruin my eyes. So I looked it up and I found out that if you use redness-relieving eye drops continuously and for a long period of time, the eye blood vessels become super dilated and then there is permanent enlargement of the blood vessels. After that if you discontinue the eye drops the red eye symptoms become worse. Anyway, that’s what I read. So I recommend that anyone who uses eye drops constantly to do some research. There are other types of eye drops too besides redness relief and I’m sure that too much of anything in your eyes is not good.
Other symptoms I read about: Redness-relieving eye drops may also prevent a more serious problem from being recognized and treated, leading to worsening of vision. Your eyes can also start feeling dry and irritated. Your pupils can widen.
I have shared eye drops with my roommates too and that is not good. Eye drops should not be shared. Also, throw away the eye drops after 4 months because bacteria can get in the bottle.
So just as I thought…don’t overuse the eye drops…it’s OK to go to work with red eyes. Maybe your boss will think you’re working too hard and give you a few days off.
Just read this announcement from 11/22/2023:
Kilitch Healthcare India Limited is recalling eyedrops with expiration dates ranging from November 2023 to September 2025. The move comes after Food and Drug Administration investigators found insanitary conditions at the place of manufacture, posing a potential risk of eye infections or related harm. FDA is warning consumers not to purchase and to immediately stop using 26 over-the-counter eye drop products due to the potential risk of eye infections that could result in partial vision loss or blindness. The recalled products were sold nationwide by retailers including CVS, Rite Aid and Walmart.
This announcement comes weeks after FDA warned consumers not to purchase or use certain methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) eye drops due to contamination.