04/04/2026
With the pollen haze a lot of eye irritation usually follows. 👁️: itching, watering, redness, puffiness, and foreign body sensation are all signs of possible allergy eye irritation. Luckily the BEST itch relief options are now available over the counter, without a prescription! For the fastest acting, longest lasting itch relief, I recommend Pataday to my patients. Both Pataday and Lastacaft used to be prescription drops, but are now available over the counter. The both have excellent, fast acting relief, but in my experience Lastacaft is more likely to cause a burning sensation to patients with sensitive eyes, and Pataday tends to be more comfortable when you put the eye drop on. Zaditor is a great older generation drop, but you need to use it 2x a day to get a full effect, and it doesn’t have as strong or as fast acting allergy symptom relief as the newer generation once a day Pataday and Lastacaft options. Shielding your eyes from pollen exposure by wearing sunglasses, cleaning your lids and lashes when you go back inside to remove pollen debris, and thoroughly cleaning your contact lenses after pollen expoure (that means rubbing your lenses if you use multipurpose contact lens cleaning solution!) all help. If your eyes are red, irritated and uncomfortable, call our office to schedule an appointment at 919-472-4070 or go online at https://truevisioneye.com/appointment/
Eye Doctor | Raleigh
