Dexamethasone (Preservative free)

[comedyjester]

Hi,

I am going on holiday next week for one week next week and dont have time to renew my presciption for the above drops.

The bottle says discard after 7 days but I am wondering if it will be ok to use them till I get back and get a new prescription which will be about 11 days? Or is it a hard and fast rule?

[BusyLizzy]

Hi,

Personally, I wouldn't risk going past the 7-day mark because it means that since there is no preservative, the drops have no protection against contamination after the 7-day period and you could very easily find yourself with infected eyes. The other consideration is what happens to the dexamethasone after the 7 days since it has no preservative: is it less effective once exposed to air?
Can you not request dexamethasone in individual containers, rather than one large bottle? This way, you only open one to use each day?
There are other steroidal eye preparations which are available in this format, such as prednisolone (Minims).
How long are you advised to use dexamethasone?

[comedyjester]

Not sure how long but my next appointment is next month.

I think I will ring the surgery and see if I can get a presciption quickly.

I think it would be silly to not get them just because i am busy!

[Andrew MacLean]

comedyjester

I guess the trip is behind you now. How did you get on.

For the future, I get my preservative free dexamethasone dispensed in little single use "minims". These seem to last much longer.

All the best

Andrew