Ocular Drug Delivery: How Medicines Reach Your Eyes and What Works Best

When you have an eye infection, inflammation, or glaucoma, getting medicine where it needs to go isn’t as simple as swallowing a pill. ocular drug delivery, the method of getting medication into the eye effectively. Also known as ophthalmic drug delivery, it’s one of the toughest challenges in medicine because your eye is built to keep things out—tears wash away drugs, the cornea blocks large molecules, and your blink reflex removes most of what you put in. That’s why most eye drops don’t work as well as they should. Less than 5% of the medicine in a typical drop actually reaches the inside of your eye. The rest just runs down your cheek.

This is why doctors and researchers have spent decades building smarter ways to deliver drugs to the eye. topical eye drops, the most common form of ocular drug delivery. Also known as eye drops, they’re easy to use but inefficient. sustained release, a system that slowly releases medicine over days or weeks. Also known as controlled release, it’s used in implants, rings, and gels to keep drug levels steady without constant reapplication. Then there’s ophthalmic drugs, medications specifically designed for eye use. Also known as eye medications, they include antibiotics like besifloxacin, steroids like fluticasone, and pressure-lowering agents like diltiazem HCl—all of which appear in our collection because they’re used in eye conditions that need precise delivery. Some of these drugs are applied directly, while others are taken orally but still affect eye health, like medications for autoimmune diseases that cause eye inflammation.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real-world examples of how these delivery methods play out in practice. You’ll see how besifloxacin fights meibomian gland dysfunction, how fluticasone helps athletes manage eye irritation from allergies, and how eye inflammation can lead to glaucoma if not treated properly. There’s no fluff here—just clear, practical info on what works, what doesn’t, and why some treatments fail even when they seem right on paper. Whether you’re dealing with dry eyes, an infection, or a chronic condition, understanding how the medicine gets to your eye changes everything.