TheraTears Liquid Gel Nighttime Lubricating Eye Drops for Dry Eyes, Single-Use Vials, 30 Count

I've been using Refresh eyedrops for years, but the relief never lasted long. In searching for new preservative-free eye drops, I came across these. I was a bit nervous about the ideal of a "gel" (I wouldn't call them that personally; they're thicker than usual drops, but not by much). But I love them. I got these mostly for use at night right before bed, and I purchased the Extra bottle of drops from Thera Tears for daytime use. The first time I put these gel drops in, my vision got very blurry, but that only lasted for a few minutes until the drops worked their way around in my eyes. By morning, for the first time in as long as I can remember, my eyes weren't painfully dry anymore. I love these. I noticed some other reviewers mentioned a "grainy" feeling. I wouldn't say that, but I think I know the sensation I mean. On the second time I used these drops I felt a weird dryness for about a minute. It seemed to have to do with my eyelid moving across my eye where part of the eye was coated with the gel drops and part was still dry. That caused a semi-painful scratchy sort of feeling that I could someone calling "grainy." But as soon as I moved my eyes around a bit then closed them for a minute or so, that feeling went away. The drops just had to be worked around. Being thicker that can take a little longer than normal eye drops. So that could be what others are describing unless they received damaged bottles (maybe ones that were exposed to freezing temps or too much heat in shipping?) or unless they had a reaction to something in them. But my experience has been quite positive, especially now that I know how to work around that brief uncomfortable feeling. UPDATE: I've been paying more attention to that "grainy" feeling with these gel drops compared to the thinner ones. And it seems to be partly an eyelash thing in my case in addition to it taking longer to work its way around the eyes. Because the gel is a thicker drop, it seems to move the lashes around more if it comes in contact with them, and that's causing the scratchy feeling temporarily (like having a lash in your eye). It still sorts itself out quickly though. I have very straight lashes that come in front of my eyes if they're not curled, so if you don't have that issue, it might not affect you that way.

I have sleep apnea and sleep with my eyes open. I have constant dry eyes and even wearing two different eye masks at night the air from the CPAP machine goes upward under the eye masks and dry out my eyes bad. That is until I started using these TheraTears liquid gel nighttime drops. I was previously just using the regular TheraTears extra dry eye drops. Which I highly recommend those for daytime use. I have tried so many stops. Even ones recommended by the eye doctor and they either burn or just don't work. TheraTears is better than anything recommended to me ever, and is totally with the value since you don't have to use as much because they really work. I was still having a bit of dry eyes in the morning using the regular drops so I thought I'd try these out and I'm so glad I did. I do wish they'd come in regular droppers instead of all the individual plastic waste. But as irritated as my eyes stayed before and burning and itching when I woke up, I have no choice. Now I wake up so relieved and my eyes are rarely hurting. They are easy to use and just make sure you don't plan to walk around for about five minutes after applying because the gel covers the eyes and makes things blurry. So I put them on right before I put on my CPAP mask and eye masks.

If you read my reviews, you know how much I love TheraTears for daytime use to soothe my dry eyes. I suppose I could use regular TheraTears for nighttime use, but the TheraTears specially formulated for nighttime use work so much better. The company calls these drops a gel, but I don't think they're quite that thick. Nevertheless, they are thick enough to cause some blurring of vision, so I use them just before I close my eyes to go to sleep, right after I've cleaned my lashes. (I definitely do not want lash mites!) It takes a minute or two for the gel to spread over the entire eye (blink quickly a few times, that will help it spread), but once it does, the feeling is so soothing and refreshing. Best is the fact that I now wake very clear eyed and very comfortable, with my eyes feeling healthy and hydrated. Some reviewers have noted a grainy or gritty feeling with these eye drops. I never have. Of course, I don't rub my eyes after inserting the drops. In fact, I don't rub my eyes at all. It could damage the surgery I've had, and this prohibition against rubbing will continue for a lifetime since one of my surgeries involved my corneas. One reviewer thought short, straight eyelashes could be the problem. I have extremely long lashes that curl naturally, but offhand, I would guess that everyone's experience is just going to be a little different. An allergy to these drops is always possible, but quite unlikely, since they are preservative free. (And the lack of preservatives is very important, since preservatives contribute to dry eyes.) These are definitely not for daytime use. They are too thick for that. I use regular TheraTears in the morning and early evening. Despite my use of drops every morning and evening, I used to wake with dry, itchy eyes. I couldn't wait to get my eye drops in. With TheraTears Nighttime, I now wake feeling my eyes are clear, refreshed, and well hydrated. And I've suffered no flakes. If you have dry eyes, try TheraTears Nighttime. I think you'll love them.