Artificial tears provide temporary relief for dry eye disease but don’t address underlying causes like meibomian gland dysfunction, inflammation, or tear film instability. Ongoing symptoms often need a more complete dry eye treatmentapproach, including targeted therapies that improve tear quality and help maintain comfortable, consistent vision.

Choosing the right OTC eye drops for dry eye is important in managing the symptoms of this condition. In summary, milder cases of dry eye may do well with occasional use of preserved OTC formulations. In more advanced cases, considering a higher dosing frequency, a more viscous drop, a preservative-free formula or a hyaluronan-containing formula might be better.