Safety and toleration of oxymetazoline ophthalmic solution

Two studies were carried out in volunteers without any abnormal ocular conditions to assess the effects and safety of an ophthalmic preparation of oxymetazoline (0.025%). In the first study in which oxymetazoline was compared with placebo and phenylephrine, the results of infra-red electronic pupillography showed that oxymetazoline in therapeutic doses had no effect on pupil size or near point recession. The second study, which was a double-blind forced choice comparison of two different formulations against placebo and 1% naphazoline, showed from assessments of the degree of ocular discomfort and hyperaemia that oxymetazoline was well tolerated and the subjects preferred oxymetazoline in a boric acid rather than in a phosphate solution.