WHY YOU SHOULDN'T GET EYE DROPS WITHOUT PRECRIPTIONS .

There is the theory that eye ailments are minor after all the eye is small, and can easily be handled by retail pharmacists/Drug shops. This assumption however is very incorrect, could be extremely costly and is fraught with so many dangers that I would like to go over.

THE CHLORAMPHENICOL ELIXIR
Most of us have had a sudden red eye, teary eye, painful eye, dull eyes etc and went to the chemist guy who gave us CHLORAMPHENICOL and the symptoms vanished. In truth, if you had visited the doctor there is a very high chance that he would have given you the same thing. BUT he would consider many factors before hand, factors that the chemist man is often unaware of. Such as examining the pattern of redness, the nature of the discharge , your current medication and your hematological state. Your doctor would also tell you how long to use the drops; it is also a known fact that incorrect use of drops is the major cause of Antibiotic resistance, which in turn ranks very high in the list of problems faced by healthcare professionals worldwide. Bone marrow depression ( reduction in the production of Red blood cells) is also caused by chloramp abuse.
CHLORAMPHENICOL is not a cure for all ills, it is an antibiotic. Just an antibiotic!


STEROIDS
Steroids (corticosteroids) are a class of drugs that mimic the action of a natural hormone, CORTISOL. The basic thing that these drugs do is to lower inflammatory signs and agents hence their ubiquity. Pain, heat, swelling, redness and loss of function are the signs of acute inflammation. Using steroid eye drops would rapidly reduce these symptoms , sounds too good to be true?? So you walk into the chemist shop, complain. of anything and he gives you steroids, you go home and all is well, initially. He doesnt tell you when to stop or how to stop, or even what it could do to you..
Our immune system is also part of the inflammation cycle, therefore suppressing inflammation would suppress your natural defense too, so if your eyes had an active or even a dormant infection at that time, that simple steroid drop could cost you your eyes and happiness. 
Even worse is if the eye had a fungal infection mostly from plant injury as often seen in farmers and agric industry staff, then the eyes are gone.
Nowadays we have steroid-antibiotic combinations to reduce the risk of bacterial colonization but do the chemists teach us how to use them? All natural hormones cannot be stopped suddenly, instead the dose should be reduced gradually over time or by reducing the frequency of administration, but most of us stop as soon as the symptoms cease. Doing this can stop your body's own production of that hormone. 
Long term steroid use has been implicated in the development of cataract. I've seen a lady who had been on steroids since 1997, the clinical findings were textbook material. Steroids also increase the eye's pressure and this can make you develop Glaucoma. 
Only use steroids with proper supervision.



Isaac Nobenz