The privilege of pharmacotherapy in the eye is the conjunctival administration of most pharmaceuticals in a form of eyedrops, which must meet various requirements to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Local ophthalmic pharmacology is used, among others, in the ocular surface pain management which is typically associated with trauma, infection or iatrogenic, post-operative tissue damage.

The cornea contains three types of pain receptors: mechanoreceptors, polymodal receptors and cold receptors which are responsible for the sensation of pain/discomfort on the surface of the eye, including stinging, burning and dryness. Pain modulation can occur at different stages of noxious stimuli transmission to the central nervous systems, comprising the level of corneal nociceptors. Local anesthetics are allowed in diagnostic and therapeutic processes only temporarily due to their toxic effect on the CNS and corneal epithelium. Local analgesics are used in the management of both acute and chronic pain.

A promising therapeutic choice is the use of opiorphin as an ingredient of eye drops administered in ocular surface disorders causing pain/discomfort, with particular emphasis on the chronic ones