SPECIALISTS IN PRESERVATIVE FREE

The effect of top­i­cal appli­ca­tions con­tain­ing Ben­za­lko­ni­um chlo­ride (BAK) and the rela­tion­ship with Ocu­lar Sur­face Dis­ease is well estab­lished, even in con­cen­tra­tions as low as 0.005%¹

Patients with Dry Eye Dis­ease (DED), par­tic­u­lar­ly those who require fre­quent use of lubri­cants or oth­er top­i­cal ther­a­pies, should avoid ocu­lar lubri­cants that con­tain Ben­za­lko­ni­um chlo­ride (BAK).²

NICE guide­lines³ rec­om­mend the fol­low­ing for mod­er­ate to severe Dry Eye patients:

“Con­sid­er preser­v­a­tive-free for­mu­la­tions if; the per­son is intol­er­ant of preser­v­a­tive in tear sup­ple­ments; has mod­er­ate to severe dry eye dis­ease requir­ing drops more than 4 times per day; is using mul­ti­ple pre­served top­i­cal med­ica­tions; or uses soft or hybrid con­tact lens.”

Pro­fes­sor Har­min­der Dua, one of the world’s lead­ing author­i­ties on the cornea and ocu­lar sur­face dis­ease explains some of the issues in the videos below.

The Thea Approach

Thea have been pio­neers in oph­thal­mol­o­gy for 150 years, spe­cial­is­ing in preser­v­a­tive-free for­mu­la­tions and inno­v­a­tive deliv­ery sys­tems. We are com­mit­ted to mak­ing preser­v­a­tive-free prod­ucts acces­si­ble and cost-effec­tive for patients and the NHS and aim to invest in edu­ca­tion­al pro­grammes to ben­e­fit both health­care pro­fes­sion­als and patients.

Théa invent­ed the first mul­ti-dose bot­tle capa­ble of dis­pens­ing preser­v­a­tive-free eye drops: the ABAK® bot­tle. The ABAK® bot­tle is a high-secu­ri­ty, high-tech­nol­o­gy dis­penser which deliv­ers up to 300 drops through a fil­ter which pre­vents micro­bial con­t­a­m­i­na­tion. Con­tin­u­al inno­va­tions have made it small­er, more user-friend­ly and more effec­tive. The con­tents can now be used for up to 3 months after open­ing as opposed to between 2 and 4 weeks for a clas­si­cal pre­served mul­ti-dose bot­tle. Pro­tect­ed by patents, the design has been specif­i­cal­ly cre­at­ed so that patients with weak­er hand strength can instill drops; — it requires only ¹⁄₃ of the strength need­ed by oth­er bot­tles.⁴

1. Kaercher T et al. How the most com­mon preser­v­a­tive affects the Mei­bomi­um lipid lay­er. Orbit 1999; 18(2):89 – 97
2. Gomes JAP et al. TFOS DEWS II Iatro­genic report, Ocul Surf 2017; 15:511 – 38
3. NICE Guide­lines for Dry Eye syn­drome August 2017
4. Con­nor, AJ & Sev­ern, PS. Eye (2011) 25 466 – 469