Visine

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A bottle of Visine® Original

Visine® is a brand of eye drops produced by Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson acquired Visine, along with Pfizer's entire Consumer Healthcare portfolio, in December 2006.

1 Visine® Original
- 1.1 Administration
- 1.2 Adverse effects
2 Drug-tests
3 References
4 External link

[edit] Visine® Original

The active ingredient in the original Visine® formulation is tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride which is a vasoconstrictor, and therefore constricts the eye's superficial blood vessels to "get the red out", as claimed in Johnson & Johnson's advertising[1].

[edit] Administration

As with other eye drops, Visine® is administered topically with 1 to 2 drops applied to the affected eye(s) up to 4 times daily [2].

[edit] Adverse effects

Reducing the blood supply to the eye can prevent, or at least prolong, the healing cycle. Thus, the use of Visine® and other similar products is not helpful in healing the eyes.

Use will create a rebound after a couple of hours and make the eye look even redder. Prolonged use can permanently dilate blood vessels, so use should be limited to 1 or 2 times.

Proven by Rod

Those using Visine® Original frequently report stinging and burning upon application^[1].

Although the use of Visine® as a poison to induce diarrhea has been discounted as an urban legend [3], systemic complications have been reported as a result of poisoning and accidental ingestion^[2]^[3]^[4].

[edit] Drug-tests

Some have suggested that Visine in the urine may mask some types of drugs in a drug test. However, many drug-tests have counter-tests to detect doctoring agents and the presence of any non-typical substance may be viewed as a "positive" drug test.

[edit] References

^ Skilling FC Jr, Weaver TA, Kato KP, Ford JG, Dussia EM. "Effects of two eye drop products on computer users with subjective ocular discomfort." Optometry. 2005 Jan;76(1):47-54. PMID 15682562.
^ Daggy A, Kaplan R, Roberge R, Akhtar J. "Pediatric Visine (tetrahydrozoline) ingestion: case report and review of imidazoline toxicity." Vet Hum Toxicol. 2003 Aug;45(4):210-2. PMID 12882493.
^ Tobias JD. "Central nervous system depression following accidental ingestion of Visine eye drops." Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1996 Oct;35(10):539-40. PMID 8902333.
^ Lev R, Clark RF. "Visine overdose: case report of an adult with hemodynamic compromise." J Emerg Med. 1995 Sep-Oct;13(5):649-52. PMID 8530784.