Humans are able to see the beauty of the world thanks to their eyes. Eyes are a nature’s gift that is often taken for granted. People with eye diseases or disorders would understand how amazing an eye can be and would pay so much time and money to have a good pair of eyes. There can be many problems affecting the eyes which are often exhibited as symptoms such as blurry vision, itchy eyes, and visual disturbances. These symptoms can cause great hindrance to a person’s life. Medicine such as hydroxypropyl cellulose is one of the medicines used to treat eye problems.
Hydroxypropyl cellulose is a derivative of cellulose. Cellulose in the field of medicine, specifically as an ophthalmic ingredient, helps to stabilise and thicken the tears. It also helps to prolong the tear film breakup time. In short, hydroxypropyl cellulose is used to treat dry eyes. To better understand how hydroxypropyl cellulose works for dry eyes, you may want to learn a bit more about dry eyes.
Dry eye is a condition in which a person’s eye is unable to have enough quality tears to lubricate the eyes. This is usually due to the eyes unable to produce enough tears or poor quality of tears. Insufficient dry eyes are caused by the reduced tear production by the glands around the eyes whereas poor tear quality is the disruption of the layer of the tears. Tears are made up of oil, water and mucus. The oil layer reduces evaporation of the eye tears by sealing the tear film, the water layer lubricates the eyes and the mucus layer helps to spread tears evenly providing maximum eye lubrication. Any disruption to any of the layers would lead to dry eyes. Risk for dry eyes is higher in older people, those living in dry, windy or cold environments, those with low levels of vitamin A, contact lens users and bad lifestyles such as smoking and drinking alcohol.
Dry eye is more than just the eye feeling dry. It often leads to vision problems and great discomfort such as burning, feeling scratchy and light sensitivity. It also leads to more risk of eye infection, ulcer and even vision loss in severe cases. Hence, treating dry eyes is essential to alleviate the symptoms and to preserve the eye function. Thus, hydroxypropyl cellulose is used to treat dry eyes by improving the tear quality.
Hydroxypropyl cellulose is available as an insert. It is usually prescribed for patients with severe dry eye that its symptoms are unable to be relieved solely from standard artificial tear eye drops. It also works best for those unwilling to apply artificial tears on a frequent basis such as those needing to use lubricant drops ten to twelve times a day in severe dry eye cases.
Hydroxypropyl cellulose is usually prescribed by a doctor. Always use this insert as instructed by the doctor. Remember to read instructions that come along with the package of the insert. If you are unsure the right way of using it or using it for the first time, you can always ask your doctor or pharmacist. Before applying this medication, make sure to pay attention to hand hygiene. Wash hands first before touching the insert and make sure the insert is not touching any other surfaces beside the applicator. If you do wear contact lenses, remove the contact lenses first before applying this medication. Use the supplied applicator to place 1 insert into the eyes. Rinse the applicator with hot running water to disinfect it after use. Store the applicator in a clean storage container.
Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes when using this medication. If the insert comes out, dispose of the fallen insert and replace with a new one. Artificial tears solution or drops may be prescribed along with this hydroxypropyl cellulose insert. Use these medications as instructed by doctors. Remember to use medication regularly to maximise its benefit and effectiveness. Apply the medication regularly at the same time of the day to help you remember. This insert is used once or twice a day and it is recommended to be used at night to minimise blurred vision effect but still can be used in the morning if preferred.
Hydroxypropyl cellulose insert may take several weeks before a person is unable to see its full effect. Do talk to healthcare provider if the insert does not seem to work or dry eyes getting worse even after using it for a while. Common side effects includes temporary blurry vision, eye discomfort, irritation or eye redness, light sensitivity and swelling or sticky eyelids. If side effect as stated or any other unwanted symptoms arise from using this product, talk to your doctor. Remove the insert if serious side effect such as eye irritation, eye pain and swelling in and around the eyes. Be careful when operating machine or when driving since this insert may actually cause vision disturbances which affects a person’s concentration.
It can be concluded that hydroxypropyl cellulose is used to treat severe dry eyes. It works as an insert that functions as artificial tears. Beside using artificial tears to treat dry eyes, using a humidifier and a filter can help add in moisture in the air for the eyes to not feeling too dry and wearing wraparound sunglasses can protect the eyes from winds that evaporates the eye tears.
