When you have dry eye disease your eyes are very sensitive.  You may find that anything you add to them stings, burns, irritates or otherwise makes them worse.  Preservatives can be especially irritating to your eyes and over time the buildup of preservatives can cause increased redness and irritation.   

The top things eye care practitioners advise to avoid these preservatives are preservative-free drops and daily disposable contact lenses.  Here, I will cover why this is great advice, other contact lens options, and what we can do to reduce our waste products by using these types of disposable products.  

Why preservative-free? 

Preservatives are used in bottled artificial tears, medicated drops, and contact lens cleaners to prevent bacteria from growing in the bottle.  Preservatives ...