Hypromellose Eye Drops

What is Hypromellose?

Hypromellose eye drops are used to ease dry and sore eyes, especially when the dryness is caused by a reduction in the flow of your tears. It can also be used for eye conditions like blepharitis, which causes red, swollen and itchy eyelids, and sometimes flakes or crusts around the roots of your eyelashes.

Hypromellose makes the surface of the eye wetter, which helps to alleviate discomfort. Sometimes referred to as ‘artificial tears’, treatments like Hypromellose can help to lubricate dry eyes that feel sore or uncomfortable.

How does Hypromellose work?

Hypromellose is named after its active ingredient, hypromellose - a synthetic substance made from cellulose that creates a film on your eye’s surface, helping to lubricate and moisten them. This helps to keep your eyes clean, tackling the symptoms of blepharitis as a result.

Hypromellose can also be useful to help stop damage to your eyes (especially the cornea) by relieving symptoms that cause you to rub or pick at your eyes, causing further discomfort or damage.

What doses of Hypromellose are there?

There’s only one strength of Hypromellose: 0.3% w/v. But you might be advised to use it more or less depending on your health and condition, which will change your daily dosage.

How to use Hypromellose

If you wear soft contact lenses, or if you’ve ever had an allergic reaction to eye drops before, you’ll need to let a clinician know before you buy or use Hypromellose. You should also make sure that you read the instructions in the package information leaflet that comes with your treatment, so you know how to use the drops properly.

To use Hypromellose:

• Wash your hands;
• Avoid touching your eye, or any other surface, with the tip of the bottle;
• If you wear soft contact lenses, make sure that they aren’t in, and wait at least 15 minutes after you’ve stopped using Hypromellose before putting them back in;
• When using the bottle for the first time, screw the cap down tightly in order to pierce the tip of the bottle;
• Tilt your head back and look at the ceiling;
• Pull your lower eyelid gently downwards;
• Hold the bottle upside down above your eye and gently squeeze to release a drop into your eye;
• Keep your eye closed, and press your index finger into the corner of your eye for 1 minute;
• Repeat the process for the other eye (if necessary) before replacing the cap after use.

Sometimes Hypromellose comes as a single-use unit, in which case you should throw it away after one use. The instructions that come with your medication will tell you which one you’re using, and exactly how to use it.

If you experience any side effects, or if it doesn’t seem like Hypromellose is working to relieve your symptoms, it’s really important that you speak to our clinician straight away. They might be able to give you some advice on how to use the medication, or look for an alternative that will work better for you.

You should store Hypromellose below 25°C and make sure that you don’t use it past its expiry date. It won’t be as effective as a treatment after this time and may have started to degrade, which can be bad for your eyes.

How long does it take Hypromellose to work?

It normally takes about two minutes for eye drops to act fully on your eye’s surface, so it should be pretty fast-acting. Your eyes should start to feel less dry and uncomfortable shortly after using Hypromellose.

What should I do if I make a mistake when using Hypromellose?

If you use too much Hypromellose you should rinse it out of your eyes with clean water.

If you forget to use your drops then you can use them as soon as you remember, as long as it’s not too close to your next dose. If it is too close, then skip that dose and continue as normal. Don’t double up on doses to make up for missed ones.

Medically reviewed by

Dr Daniel Atkinson

GP Clinical Lead

on May 04, 2022.

Meet Daniel