AEON Protect Eye Drops

Rayner AEON Protect Eye Drops 10ml | After Eye Surgery

If your eyes feel dry or gritty by the end of the day but it's not a severe, constant problem, AEON Protect is built for that everyday level of discomfort rather than a more intensive dry eye condition. The formula centres on 0.3% sodium hyaluronate, the same lubricant your eyes already produce naturally, paired with PEG 400 to help that lubrication stick around longer than a basic drop would manage.

What makes this one worth knowing about specifically is how it stays sterile without a conventional preservative. Most multi-dose eye drops either use an old-style preservative, which can irritate the eye with frequent use, or need a specialised dropper mechanism to avoid one entirely. AEON Protect takes a third route: a second-generation preservative called SCO that does its job inside the sealed bottle, then breaks apart into substances your tears already contain the moment light hits it on your eye. You get a sterile bottle and a preservative-free eye, without the drawbacks of either extreme.

It's developed by Rayner as part of the AEON range built for ophthalmic eye care, and it's also suitable for use after eye surgery.

Key Features:

• Everyday dryness relief without the sting some preserved drops cause over repeated use
• A lighter formulation than AEON Protect Plus, better suited to mild or moderate symptoms rather than severe dry eye
• SCO preservative technology keeps the bottle sterile while leaving nothing behind on the eye itself
• Works fine over contact lenses, so there's no need to take them out first
• A compact 10ml bottle that's easy to carry and use through the day

What's Actually in It, and Why

Two ingredients do most of the work here. Sodium hyaluronate is already part of your eye's own tear film, it's what keeps the surface hydrated under normal circumstances, so topping it up directly addresses the shortfall that causes dry eye symptoms in the first place. On its own, though, hyaluronate drops can wash away fairly quickly. That's where PEG 400 comes in: it helps the solution cling to the eye's surface for longer, so a single drop keeps working rather than needing constant reapplication.

The SCO preservative deserves a closer look since it's genuinely unusual. Conventional preservatives sit in the solution and stay active indefinitely, including after the drop has landed on your eye, which is part of why long-term use of preserved drops can gradually irritate the ocular surface. SCO instead degrades on exposure to light into oxygen, water and sodium chloride, substances your tears already contain, so by the time the drop has settled on your eye it's no longer acting as a preservative at all. The bottle gets the protection it needs; your eye doesn't have to deal with the consequences.

Ingredients

• Active ingredients: Sodium hyaluronate 0.3%, PEG 400
• Preservative system: SCO (Stabilised Oxychloro Complex), breaks down into natural tear components on contact with light
• Phosphate-free formula

How to Use

1. Wash your hands before handling the bottle.
2. Tilt your head back slightly and pull down your lower eyelid to form a small pocket.
3. Instil 1 drop into the affected eye or eyes, or follow the frequency your eye care professional has given you.
4. Keep the dropper tip away from your eye, eyelid, or any other surface.
5. No need to remove contact lenses first, it's safe to use with them in.
6. Screw the cap back on firmly and store below 25°C, out of direct sunlight.
7. Once opened, use within 6 months, and keep it somewhere children can't reach it.

For external use in the eye only. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, there's no dedicated safety data for this product, though nothing suggests a risk either, so check with your doctor or pharmacist if you want reassurance before starting.

Shipping

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Returns

Returns are accepted within 28 days on eligible unopened items in their original packaging. Medicines, prescription products, and opened items cannot be returned unless faulty or damaged. For more details read our complete return policy.