Abstract

OCULAR PRESERVATIVES: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

The patient suffering from ocular diseases usually are subjected to a variety of topical medications As per the USFDA requirement all topical ophthalmic preparations in multidose containers should be able to resist most microbial contamination so preservatives are added to multidose medications bottles to resist /inhibit the microbial contamination. Preservatives are included in multiple-dose eye solutions for maintaining the product sterility during use. Preservatives are not included in unit-dose package. The use of preservatives is prohibited in ophthalmic products that are used in eye surgery because, if sufficient concentration of the preservative is contacted with the corneal endothelium, the cells can become damaged causing clouding of the cornea and possible loss of vision. So these products should be packaged in sterile unit dosage containers. The most common organism is Pseudomonas aeruginosa that grow in the cornea and cause loss of vision.Preservatives used have been linked to various unwanted ocular surface side effects like ocular toxicity, inflammation, allergy, disruption of the tear film .so keeping this in view, the manufacturers of ocular medications have developed new preservative systems in order to limit these toxic side effects .this article gives a deep insight of the various preservatives which are used in various ophthalmic preparations.

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