PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A new way to get big, bright eyes without surgery or injections. It’s the first FDA-approved eyedrops to give your eyes a lift.
“It literally is one drop in each eye,” Lisa Winig said.
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For special occasions, Winig has a new secret weapon.
“It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3,” she said.
And just like that, she has wider, brighter eyes.
“Both of my eyes have droop. One droops more and so I do it in both and it definitely opens them both up,” Winig said.
The new FDA-approved eye drops are called Upneeq, billed as the first noninvasive prescription fix for droopy eyelids.
It works by stimulating an involuntary eyelid muscle.
“The medicine is called Oxymatazalin, which you might know as Afrin. Now you can use it in your eyelid. It’s a different formulation but that’s the basic medicine that’s in there,” Plastic surgeon Jason Bloom said.
Bloom says the drops last for about eight hours, a temporary way to reduce drooping or swelling in the upper eyelid.
“It constricts or closes a lot of the blood vessels in the eye that can show as red. So what happens is the eyes actually get whiter and brighter in addition to more open,” Bloom said.
Dr. Bloom was so intrigued he uses the drops himself. The results are subtle.
“But it can really make a difference,” he said.
Upneeq side effects can include eye irritation, dryness, redness, headaches and cornea inflammation.
Bloom says they’re rare and temporary and that the drops are a nice alternative to surgery or injectables.
“Now patients have something at home, a drop, that can give them a brighter, wider eye,” he said.
Winig, who lives in Bryn Mawr, says she noticed the issue more during the pandemic.
“I started looking at selfies and Zoom calls and pictures and it really bothered me,” she said.
Here’s Winig’s before and after comparison.
She says she uses the drops mainly for evening events.
“For me, it just helps me feel better about myself and it just makes me look more awake, more fresh, more alive. It’s that perfect little pick me up with my makeup,” she said.
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A box of 25 eye droppers costs about $200 — about $8 per use for both eyes.