7 Best Eye Drops for Allergies

Allergies occur when your immune system cannot process something in your environment or senses it as harmful to your body. When foreign substances or allergens come into contact with your eyes’ mast cells, your eye cells respond by releasing several chemicals, including histamine. The release of histamine and other chemicals causes an allergic reaction and makes your eyes irritated and red.

You can use multiple over-the-counter antihistamine eye drop products to avoid allergic reactions in your eyes. Whether you suffer from redness or itchiness, this article will walk you through the seven best eye drops for your eye allergy needs.

Best Allergy Eye Drops 

The table below outlines the eye-drop products discussed in this article and their respective prices:

Sources: Healthline, Prevention.com

Best Overall: Bausch + Lomb Alaway Antihistamine Eye Drops

Alaway eye drops are considered the best eye drops for allergies. It costs around $18 on Amazon for 20mL (2 packs of 10mL). The active ingredient in this product is ketotifen. This prescription-strength ingredient allows quick relief and long-lasting effects—up to 8-12 hours. Ketotifen is a mast-cell stabilizing agent and antihistamine. 

Mast-cell stabilizers prevent histamine production and prevent itching for extended periods of time. Antihistamines treat existing inflammation caused by histamines and quickly relieve itching. The dual action of these eye drops makes them an especially effective product.

To use Alaway, add one drop per affected eye twice daily. Alaway cannot be used with contact lenses.

Best Once-Daily: Pataday Once-Daily Relief Eye Drops

Pataday prescription-strength eye drops are the best product for 24-hour relief. Its active ingredient is olopatadine, which only requires one drop per affected eye daily. Like ketotifen, olopatadine is a class of antihistamines that suppress the release of histamines and other irritating chemicals during an allergic reaction. Studies have shown that people with allergies prefer to use olopatadine over ketotifen in terms of comfort and efficacy. 

It is relatively expensive and costs $15-$22 for 2.5mL. However, it can be used with contact lenses if you wait 10 minutes after application to insert contacts.