No matter if we wear contact lenses or not, we have all been to the pharmacy or local drugstore in search of a solution to soothe our eyes. When your eyes are dry or irritated, you look for eye drops that can help rehydrate your eyes. It is definitely way better than splashing water into them. But, what happens when you stumble into the eye care aisle of the store and find two products with similar names. Eyewash VS eye drops. Which should you choose? This can be confusing to some of us because we don’t really know what each of them does. To us, they are the same thing, but with a different name. So, Beauty Insider wants to make sure that we all can tell the difference between eyewash and eye drops the next time we go searching for a soothing solution for our eyes. 

Eyewash

An eyewash solution contains a combination of water and sodium chloride. Sometimes, some eyewash solutions also have boric acid within their formulas. This acid has the benefit of helping fight germs and bacteria. Eyewash solutions can also be called saline solutions and can be used for other purposes as well. For example, an eyewash solution can also be used to soak your contact lenses. It hydrates the lenses and cleanses them of any bacteria and germs. Allowing you to wear it again the next day. Granted that the lenses you soaked were monthly disposable contact lenses and not for daily wear. Besides that, those with piercings will constantly hear piercers ask you to use saline solutions to clean your wounds. If you can’t be bothered to mix salt and water together, get a bottle of eyewash solution. 

Eye Drops

Eye drops, on the other hand, are more effective at treating eye diseases and infections. Besides that, eye drops are also called artificial tears. With several different types of eye drops for you to choose from, it is important to choose the right one as well. Using eye drops can also help soothe your eyes and some even help reduce redness. Eye drops are more commonly used to treat dry and irritated eyes, as well as bloodshot eyes. But, it is not advisable to use eye drops too often as repeated use could make your bloodshot eyes worse. Besides the regular liquid eye drops, there are also gel and ointment eye drops. 

Both of which are also effective at treating dry eye diseases. Gel eye drops contain an active ingredient that increases viscosity. This makes the solution thicker and longer-lasting. Thus, it is recommended for nighttime use. Ointment eye drops are similar as they are semi-solid and specially formulated lubricants that come in a tube. But, since it has quite a thick consistency, it tends to cause blurry vision. This is why they are mostly used during the night. 

Eyewash VS Eye Drops

eyewash vs eye drops

So, eyewash vs eye drops. Have you figured out the difference between them yet? If you haven’t, here is a quick recap! Eyewash solutions are used to help get rid of particles, dirt or bacteria from your eyes. Eye drops are lubricant drops that treat infections, soothe dryness and reduce redness in the eyes. Although, excessive use of both can cause more harm than good to your eyes, so it is important to use both in moderation. As a saline solution, eyewash has more functions besides flushing out irritants from your eyes. Eyewash solutions also do not have the lubricating components to treat dry eyes. Eye drops on the other hand, are definitely your choice when wanting to soothe your eyes. 

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