Consumer Confusion

A guide to choosing and using eye care products correctly

Walk into a typical American pharmacy these days, and you might be amazed by the huge array of eye care products stacked along the shelves. Is it any wonder that many of us use the wrong products on our eyes?

"With hundreds of different products sitting on the drugstore shelf, it's quite easy to become confused about which cleaning solution is most appropriate for cleaning the contact lenses you wear, or which artificial tear product to buy for dry eyes," says David Jones, O.D., of Santa Rosa, California. Here are some tips from Dr. Jones on using eye care products correctly:

If your eyes frequently look red and bloodshot while also itching and watering, the problem could be allergies. Ask your doctor if you need an anti-allergy medication. Don't use redness relievers, which are cosmetic preparations that only mask the symptoms.

For people who work on computers all day, dry eyes are a continuing problem. Solution: Moisten your eyes with artificial tear products, which contain many of the lubricating agents produced naturally by the human eye.

When storing your eye care products, reduce the chance of confusing them with other non-medical products by storing items such as small glue bottles away from the medicine cabinet.

If you wear contact lenses, make sure the solutions you choose for cleaning, disinfecting and storing them overnight are compatible with one another. "The best approach is to ask your eye doctor for a list of contact lens preparations," says Dr. Jones. "If you stick with the list, you won't have to worry about incompatibility."