Why discard eye drops

How long can you use prescription eye drops after opening them? JUL 15, Question: How long can you use prescription eye drops after opening them? Answer: Unless otherwise noted in the package insert, eye drops should stay safe and effective until the expiration date if used and stored correctly. General Eye Health. Ask an Ophthalmologist. Browse Answers. Medical disclaimer By submitting your question, you agree to be answered by email.

Question Required. Email address Required. Enter a Valid email address. This is why it is a good idea to have someone else apply eye medications that are within their expiration dates. The expiration date of eye medications is usually stamped on their packing or at the bottom of the bottle.

If you cannot find it, it is best to discard the med instead of taking a chance. Your email address will not be published.

Compositional Changes The longer prescription eye meds or over-the-counter drops are stored in a bottle, the more the composition of those meds change. Bacterial Breeding Sometimes when patients use eye medications, the dropper application touches the eyeball, eyelid, or eyelashes.

The eye drop residue was spread over the surface of the agar plates. One blood agar plate was incubated aerobically and the other anaerobically, both at 37 degree centigrade for 48 hrs, and then at 30 degree centigrade for another five days. The chocolate agar plates were incubated at 37 degree centigrade in CO2 for seven days. The Sabouraud-dextrose plates were incubated for 14 days at two different temperatures, one plate at 37 degree centigrade and other at 30 degree centigrade.

After incubation the plates were examined for any growth. For qualitative analysis, 0. Statistical Analysis Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet Results Collection of the eye drops, meeting the study criteria, took sixty eight days. The period since opening of the bottle and collection varied between 37 days to 54 days.

The average delay between collection and culture was 1. None of the eye drop solution had any growth on any culture media after a period of 14 days. Discussion Our results on used multi-dose eye drops suggest that the microbial contamination of the solution is not the rule, even after one month.

In rural Indian set up storage of eye drops may be improper and unhygienic. In our study, we noted dirty external appearance in twenty six percent of eligible bottles. Culture results may be affected by the source of sample, presence of the preservative, duration since opening, type of the drug and the usage pattern or conditions.

In studies where the sample were taken from the solution only, as also the case in our study, either the contamination was not detected or had low incidence. Similarly, we did not find any association with regard to the type of the content, unlike many studies where increased risk of the contamination has been reported in non-antibiotic solutions.

Studies carried out involving glass bottles with separate dropper had reported higher incidence of contamination. The period of use and incidence of contamination has been variably reported. Instructing the users about proper and safe handling of the eye drop during use, decreases the risk of contamination of the eye drop. Technology of filling and packaging of eye drops has improved in last decade or so.

But in light of these changes, guidelines about usage of eye-drops have not been reviewed. Our study results suggest that multi-drop eye drops can be used for an extended period. However, more studies need to be taken with different groups of eye drops with different durations to determine maximum duration of sterility of eye drop solutions. In conditions with more risk of infection transmission and in post operative period the recommended regulation of using solution within one month of opening should be followed unless larger studies are taken up to prove safer use after one month.

References 1. When he has a spare moment, he enjoys skiing, tennis, travel, and fine coffee. Thanks for reading! Hello— Unfortunately, we cannot advise on this over the web. I recommend calling your eye doctor if you have any concerns on these eyedrops. Thank you for reading. Thank You. Hello Peggy. We recommend that you contact the doctor that originally prescribed the Latanoprosto eyedrops to you to see what they would like you to do with the drops.

We are unable to give medical advice online. Thank you for being a reader! Hello LuAnn— Unfortunately, we cannot advise on this over the web.

I accidentally used eye drops that expired in May Will I be okay? Hello, I put tears naturale in my eye yesterday. It has been expired for over a year. Will it cause permanent damage of any kind? Thanks in advance. Thanks regard. Hello Ali.