What Is Visine? How Does Visine Work?

It’s a seemingly simple solution to a simple problem: your eyes are red, itchy, and irritated, and Visine promises to fix that problem for you. It’s even in their slogan, which claims Visine “gets the red out".

And it does, at least for a while. However, if you don’t understand what Visine is and how it works, you may be unaware that it could actually be causing more harm than good to your eyes and their symptoms. In fact, many eye doctors recommend that their patients forego this sort of harmful eye drop altogether.

Why Visine Is Bad For Your Eyes | Visine Side Effects

Visine is, fundamentally, a decongestant. Redness in your eyes can be caused by swollen and congested blood vessels; these blood vessels, when irritated, become filled with blood and get backed up. Visine solves the problem by causing the affected blood vessels to artificially constrict.

The active ingredients in Visine cause retinal blood vessels to physically shrink. This accomplishes the immediate goal of lessening the eye’s redness, however, as the medication eventually wears off, a phenomenon known to eye doctors as “rebound redness” may occur, which makes the initial problem that much worse.

In fact, over a prolonged period of continuous Visine usage, the rebound redness may actually become the default condition of the patient’s eyes. It’s true: Visine can permanently imprint on your eyes the very condition that it was originally intended to improve.

This is because Visine makes a basic mistake: it temporarily addresses the patient’s symptom (redness) without adequately solving the underlying cause (which may vary). And it can be even worse for contact lens wearers, because Visine can also dilate a patient’s pupils when used too much, too often. Contact lens wearers may become increasingly sensitive to light and experience blurry vision. For more information on Visine, check out the 5 Best & 5 Worst Eye Drops for Red Eyes.

What Happens If You Drink Visine? What Happens When You Put O ne Drop of Visine in Someone's Drink?

Although an interesting question, and one that we've never really contemplated before, it's worth noting a few of the side effects that can occur if you ingest Visine. The active ingredient in Visine is Tetrahydrozoline HCl 0.05%. If swallowed, this substance can cause any or all of the following:

Nausea and vomiting

Breathing difficulty

Blurred vision

Lowered body temperature

Seizures or tremors

Fluctuations in blood pressure

Shutdown of the central nervous system

As you can see, these are not small symptoms and Visine is nothing to play around with. Tetrahydrozoline HCl 0.05% works as a decongestant in the eyes, but can have drastic consequences if ingested. Especially prone to the above side effects are small children who may inadvertently swallow the solution.

If you are using Visine, make sure to keep it far out of reach of those tiny little hands, and think twice before pranking your best friend with a few drops in their drink.

Can You Use Visine With Contacts?

Now, let's switch back to the eyes. Visine should not be used with contact lenses because it contains preservatives that could stick to the contact lenses, bathing your eyes in preservatives (and the medication) all day long.

Using Visine with contact lenses could greatly increase your risk of side effects such as red eyes, irritation, and overall discomfort of the eyes.

What About Visine Allergy Eyes Drops?

Visine-A® is Visine's allergy eye drop, and the drops contain active ingredients of Naphazoline HCL 0.025% (which acts similar to Tetrahydrozoline as the redness reliever) and Pheniramine maleate 0.3% (which acts as the antihistamine to get rid of the itch). The company states that their product can help relieve itching and redness of the eyes due to pollen, ragweed, grass, and animal dander.

While this is not entirely untrue, it's our opinion that this drop is not the best choice for those with allergies because it still contains that redness reliever that can lead to rebound redness. There are other options for allergies on the market, and these include over-the-counter eye drops such as Alaway and Zaditor. These two do not contain a redness reliever but will still give you nearly instant relief of those itchy, irritated eyes.

If Visine Is Bad, How Do I Fix My Red, Bloodshot Eyes? Visine Alternative

Maintain Proper Eyelid Hygiene

Even lubricant eye drops are not fixing the underlying problem of dry, red, irritated eyes. We always recommend cleaning up your diet, drinking more water, and making sure to keep your eyelids clean with a hypochlorous acid eyelid cleanser, like Heyedrate Lid and Lash Cleanser (click here to check the price on Amazon). Hypochlorous acid is made naturally by the body to fight microorganisms and inflammation, and this spray formulation is no different.

To use, simply spray the solution onto your closed eyelids, rub it in, and let it dry. If you prefer, you can spray it onto a cotton ball or round before applying in the same way, or you can even just spray it on and go. There's no need to ever rinse it off! This routine should be performed twice per day, every single day (remember to do it at the same time you brush your teeth, and it will quickly become a routine).

Switch to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Diet, hydration, and cleaner eyelids allow for the body to work to heal itself without creating the problems associated with rebound redness from these astringent eye drops. Click here to read more about how the food you eat can affect your eyes.

We suggest incorporating diet changes slowly. Begin by adding more filtered water into your day. You should be drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day (so, if you weigh 150 pounds, that's 75 ounces per day). Do yourself a favor and get a reusable water bottle. Then, start to decrease or cut out the processed, fried, and sugary foods in your diet and replace them with fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. You can download a handy food chart here to get you started on your way to healthy eating.

Cool or Warm Compresses (Your Preference!)

If your symptoms just won't go away, it may be worth your while to give a cold or warm compress a try before proceeding to the medication route. A cool compress will generally be helpful for those suffering from allergies, while a warm compress is great for dry, irritated eyes dealing with MGD and dry eye disease. To use a cool compress, place a mask in the freezer for at least 2 hours and then lie it over your closed eyes for 10 minutes. If using a warm compress, place it in the microwave for 20 seconds before testing the temperature on the inside of your wrist. Once it feels warm (but not too hot!) place it over your closed eyes for 10 minutes. Doing either of these once or twice per day may mean the difference between red, irritated eyes and those that appear healthy and vibrant.

And, obviously, you should absolutely visit an eye care professional if you’re experiencing any of the symptoms described above, prior to attempting to medicate your own eyes.

Visine Ingredients

Visine Active Ingredients

Tetrahydrozoline HCI 0.05% - redness reliever

Visine Inactive Ingredients

Benzalkonium chloride

Boric acid

Edetate disodium

Purified water

Sodium borate

Sodium chloride

So let us know...are you an avid Visine user? Do you have another great eye drop you enjoy using?

One Love,

Dr. Travis Zigler, SeeEO of Eye Love