Do Japanese Eye Drops for Red Eye Really Work?

Eye drops that claim to have a “red-eye” effect usually contain vasoconstrictors. The eye drops you normally use should not contain vasoconstrictors.

If you go to the pharmacy, you will find a lot of eye drops. Many of them claim the effect of “getting engorged”. Such medicines will certainly whiten your eyes and feel like they worked.

Most of these eye drops contain an ingredient called a “vasoconstrictor”. When instilled, it forcibly constricts blood vessels, causing redness and whitening of red eyes.

Vasoconstrictors include naphazoline hydrochloride, tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride, and phenylephrine hydrochloride. Please check the ingredient displayed

Even if it looks white

 japanese eye drops for red eye

Vasoconstrictors are a commonly used ingredient in over-the-counter drugs. Commonly, 5 to 6 kinds of ingredients are mixed and one of them is a vasoconstrictor. However, in fact, it is rarely included in the eye drops prescribed by ophthalmologists. (Even when used occasionally, eye drops with a vasoconstrictor alone are used.) The reason is that vasoconstrictors are drugs that only look like red eyes and do not improve the disease itself.

The point is that you only need to understand how japanese eye drops for red eye works and understand the limits.

For example, consider what happened when you had conjunctivitis. If you apply a vasoconstrictor here, your red eyes will turn white. However, conjunctivitis has never been cured and has not been treated. To cure conjunctivitis, you must use antibacterial agents against bacteria and drugs that suppress inflammation. But vasoconstrictors have no such effect.

Rebound

Moreover, if the vasoconstrictor is used continuously, the phenomenon of hyperemia occurs when the effect of the drug is exhausted. This is called “rebound”. Ophthalmologists avoid using vasoconstrictors to avoid rebounds.

To Sell Eye Drops 

Of course, it may not be so intentional. The logic of pharmaceutical companies is that “selling eye drops are good eye drops.” If you sell a lot of eye drops that use vasoconstrictors, the eye drops will remain. On the other hand, eye drops that do not use vasoconstrictors become unpopular and disappear without selling. In short, it’s the result of user choice.

To be a wise patient

Vasoconstrictors are not very dangerous drugs. Going out to the public, with your eyes red. It is also a convenient medicine in such a case. When the vasoconstrictor subsides the redness, it may be misunderstood that the illness has been cured. The degree of inflammation of conjunctivitis can be judged by looking at the degree of hyperemia, but if a vasoconstrictor is used, the degree of inflammation cannot be judged.  Besides, if you use it before going to an ophthalmologist, you should consider the risk that the symptoms will be hidden and you will not be able to make a correct diagnosis.