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Quaternary ammonium antiseptic / preservative

Benzalkonium chloride

Brand names: various preservative / antiseptic

Adult dose

Dose: Per product (eye drops typically 0.005–0.02% as preservative)
Route: Topical / Ophthalmic
Frequency: Per product

Clinical pearls

  • RCOphth dry eye / glaucoma: preservative-free preparations preferred for chronic ophthalmic therapy
  • TFOS DEWS II ocular surface disease

Contraindications

  • Hypersensitivity
  • Soft contact lens use (deposition)

Side effects

  • Dry eye
  • Punctate keratopathy
  • Allergic / contact dermatitis

Interactions

  • Soft contact lenses (deposition)

Monitoring

  • Ocular surface
  • Symptom

Reference: BNF; RCOphth; TFOS DEWS II; https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/benzalkonium-chloride/. Verify against your local formulary and the latest BNF before prescribing.

Related

Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.

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