Over the winter months, as soon as I get a cold (which tends to last the whole winter!), I start suffering from itchy sore eyes which really do feel so uncomfortable. I never tend to suffer with this problem over the summer, but over the winter it really becomes an issue for me and I've tried various lotions and potions to try to find something which relieves the problem a little. To be honest, many of the eye wash solutions I've tried have helped a little - and one of these solutions I've used is the Optrex Eye Wash and Eye Bath which does help a little. A 300ml bottle costs £6.59 from Boots and this comes complete with the eye wash. As I use about 5mls of the eye wash every time I rinse my eyes, this bottle lasts me about a two weeks at a time and so it's not a bad price really.

The details on the box tells me that the solution is made out of distilled water with natural plant extracts and that it is balanced to reflect the normal pH of the eye - meaning that it is non-irritating and gentle on the eye. The eye bath is a little plastic pot which can be stored on top of the bottle and which can be used to pour the solution into so that you can bathe your eye. It is not sterile, but having spoken to the pharmacist, there is no need to sterilise the eye bath when it's in used - as long as it's kept socially clean. As I said, I use about 5mls of the solution each time - which I pour into the eyebath and then bring this to my eye and try to keep my eye open as I swill the solution onto the surface of my eye. I have to admit that I am a little bit squemish about putting anything in my eye, but actually the solution feels immediately cooling, refreshing and soothing and so it's not an unpleasant experience at all. I try to swill it onto the surface of my eye for about 30 seconds - and usually this length of time feels about right. I then change the solution before doing my other eye.

I find the solution does help and make my eyes feel less tired and scratchy. If my eyes are feeling 10/10 for being uncomfortable before using the Optrex Eye Wash and Eye Bath then it probably reduces to about 5/10 afterwards - and so this is a significant improvement, although clearly it doesn't alleviate all of the symptoms. I find each wash lasts about 6 hours - so then I repeat if necessary.

Overall, I would recommend using Optrex Eye Wash and Eye Bath if you have tired or irritated eyes.....I think it will help.