Dry Eye Lubrication, preservative free or not?

Hi. I have very dry eyes and the doctor told me to use Systane tubes. But I found that it is very expensive and it doesn't really help my dry eyes. I was wondering what is the major difference between the ones in the tubes vs. the ones that are in the bottle. The ones in the bottle are much cheaper and I can use them more often.

Can I use the ones in the bottle instead?

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

I totally understand where you are coming from.  Usually we reserve the preservative free (disposable vials) artificial tears for the most severe cases.  These patients can suffer irritation from even the most gentle preseratives.  If you are not a terrible, severe case then you should usually be able to get by with a bottled tear drops with a disappearing preservative like Systane or Genteal.  You should ask your personal ophthalmologist if it is OK, though.

Michael Kutryb, MD