Hypotears Discontinuation
UpdatedThe first hypothesis is that Hypotears was so good that the medical establishment forced somehow retailers and the pharmaceutical company to discontinue the product, and the second hypothesis is that the cost to make Hypo is so outrageous that the public won't be able to afford it out of their pocket.
10 Replies
I have been buying HypoTears over the internet for awhile. Suddenly the price has quadrupled, leading me to conclude that it has been discontinued. How can I find out for sure?
Hey guys,
I just wanted to post an update to those of you who may be looking for HypoTears on the internet. Apparently some retailers do still carry it. Not sure what the original price tag was before it skyrocketed, but what I'm seeing are 1oz packages of HydroTears for $24.99 and $59.96 from two different distributors on Amazon. However there don't seem to be any discrepancies that signify why one costs more than the other. They also list two packs for $126.47 and three packs for $141.40, respectively. So that sounds to me like it may be your next best bet for obtaining some before they run out of stock at some point.
A few other HypoTear users on another thread have also suggested that people try "Systane Ultra" and "Refresh Tears" as suitable alternatives to HypoTears when no one else has it available.
Lastly, there has been speculation that HypoTears was discontinued simply because the preservative(s) were considered to be too harsh. Can anyone who's tried HypoTears vouch for this claim?
I have used HypoTears for about 10 years with no issues...it has been the only drop that works for me, and I have tried so many. I want to find a way to make this available again!
FYI, I have used HypoTears for 30 years and am clueless about any bad effects. I just know when recommended to me by my eye doctor, it was one of the few that was safe with my hard contact lenses and didn't burn when applied. I don't have contact lenses any more, so I just want to make sure I find something that relieves the dry eye discomfort without initially burning and that I can use "as needed." Has anyone found a good replacement. I just started on my last bottle of HypoTears...
I'm just now learning that Hypotears has been discontinued, I am so sad. I began using hypotears 35 years ago and have never experienced any eye irritation-ever! I use them mainly in the mornings as my eyes are generally very dry and using them prior to putting on my contacts is a must. Thru the years, the price continued to rise(the last time I bought them was for $20). I have tried a variety of other lubricating drops but most of them irritated my eyes instead of feeling soothing. As my last bottle is nearing the end, I started looking around for hypotears last week and noticed that CVS no longer had them in stock. Tonight I started looking for them on the internet and that's how a stumbled onto this site. How strange that the drug company has decided to stop making it. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't decide to stop making so that they could introduce a new prescribed eye drop that would do essentially the same thing only at a much higher, pharmaceutically inflated price.
My understanding was the preservative was a safety concern. I decided to just try a similar formula and have been reasonably satisfied with Systane Ultra.
After my Lasix surgery in 1999, I have used Hypotears. It was recommended by the eye surgeon as the only eye drops that could be used all day long to help the dry eye condition that Lasix often causes. I never had any problem with it and it was the only eye drops that didn't burn. Since then I have tried many others, the latest being Visene "Dry Eyes", but the preservatives in that seem to concentrate towards the end of the bottle such that I end up throwing out one-third of the solution because it causes itchy allergy eyes. Just yesterday I tried Clear Eyes "Triple Action", but it has made my eyes so blurry that I can hardly see to type this. I've sent my husband out to Walmart to get the Visene again. I'll just have to put up with the waste. I would prefer not to go to prescription eye drops, but that may be the only way. You could certainly make a case that the big pharma are forcing us into prescription drops because the OTC Hydrotears were working so well. Good luck to everybody finding a good substitute for Hydrotears.
Try Refresh Tears. You can find this at Costco and Sams Club as well. My eye doctor recommended two types of drops: Hypo Tears was the first and Refresh Tears was the second.
Are HypoTears available anywhere on a retail basis? Have been looking for years and have failed to find them in drugstores, Target, etc. I did find them on the shelves at Walmart, maybe three or four years ago. They don't even have samples at the ophthalmologists' offices. The product is the best I've used for dry eyes, which I did for decades. It is so exceptionally good that I don't mind the high price. What is the most dependable and reasonable Internet site that sells them? Refresh Tears, in particular, and Systane ultra are both pretty good substitutes, but not as soothing. Thanks. Also, does any source know why these suddenly became unavailable so suddenly, so long ago? I'd love to know, as this product was a part of my daily routine and I miss it.
Re: David (# 2)
I believe you are right. Hypo-tears is the only eye drops that I could use that did not burn my eyes. I think something fishy (unethical) is going on, and “being shut down by the competition” is a real possibility. I paid an exorbitant amount a few years back and got some online that were outdated. They are better than ALL the others, and I am not the only one who believes they are the BEST, so why doesn’t someone buy the patent and make them again.
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