Eye Care
Santen develops, produces and markets a wide range of ophthalmic drugs in Europe. The main activities are in the field of dry eye, glaucoma, eye infections and allergy.
Therapy areasLearn more about symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment:
Preserve Vision Preservative Free
Preservatives are commonly used in eye drops to ensure sterility of the drops in multidose bottles. Although eye drops are mostly well tolerated, especially when they are used in short-term treatments, in certain circumstances patients may complain of stinging, burning, discomfort, irritation or eye dryness.
The anti-infectious properties of preservatives are based on a non-specific biological activity that may be the cause of these symptoms. Especially in chronic conditions, such as dry eye and glaucoma, the use of preservative free drops should be considered.
The sterility of preservative free drops can be ensured by using single dose vials. Alternatively, a new preservative has recently been developed, which is preserved in the bottle, but unpreserved in the eye. This is a soft preservative that quickly degrades into water, oxygen and salt. This preservative is use in Oxyal.
Natural moistening of dry eyes
Drying of ocular surface may be extremely troublesome condition. It causes bothersome symptoms like irritation, redness, foreign body sensation, tearing and blurriness of eyesight.
Symptoms are more usual with increasing age, in female gender (especially after age of menopause), in allergic persons and in contact lens users. Dry eye symptoms emerge more easily in office, factory and hospital environments, as well as in any other efficiently air-conditioned spaces like aeroplanes and car cabins.
Symptomatic treatment with ocular moistening drops reliefs the discomfort. The most natural treatment is obtained by preservative-free alternatives, especially if needed several times per day.
Patients with glaucoma are treated for a lifetime
Once diagnosed, glaucoma is a lifelong condition. As people live longer, this may mean decades of treatment. Therefore, it is essential to consider patient satisfaction and long term treatment success as the cornerstones of modern glaucoma management.
The use of antiglaucoma medications is often associated with ocular adverse reactions such as dry eyes, burning or stinging sensation. Preservatives commonly used in eye drops may often be responsible for these side effects and can interfere with the treatment goals. The use of preservative free drops should be considered.
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