What drugs should you not take if you have glaucoma?

Medications to Avoid with Glaucoma
  • Allergy/Cold Remedies: Diphenhydramine, Ephedrine.
  • Anxiety: Vistaril (hydroxyzine)
  • Asthma/COPD: Atrovent (ipratroprium bromide), Spiriva (tiotropium bromide)
  • Depression: Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Elavil (amitryptiline), Tofranil (imipramine)


What medications should someone with glaucoma avoid?

Closed-Angle Glaucoma: Medicines to Avoid
  • Antihistamines and decongestants.
  • Asthma medicines.
  • Motion sickness medicines.
  • Some medicines used to treat depression (tricyclic antidepressants).


What drugs make glaucoma worse?

These include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac (fluoxetine) and Paxil (paroxetine). Tricyclic antidepressants such as Elavil (amitriptyline) and Tofranil (imipramine) may also have some anticholinergic activity and thus should be used in caution in patients with narrow angles.


What medications increase eye pressure?

Corticosteroids, or steroids, can raise eye pressure, especially in those persons who have open-angle glaucoma, first-degree relatives of those with open-angle glaucoma, elderly and young (<6 years) persons, those with type 1 diabetes and those with high myopia (short-sightedness).

What medications interact with glaucoma?

Medication classes covered in this review that are known to or may modulate the risk of open-angle glaucoma include corticosteroids, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, metformin, statins, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, bupropion, postmenopausal hormones, and cannabinoids.


3 things to avoid when you have glaucoma



What can cause glaucoma to get worse?

Risk factors
  • High internal eye pressure, also known as intraocular pressure.
  • Age over 55.
  • Black, Asian or Hispanic heritage.
  • Family history of glaucoma.
  • Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, migraines, high blood pressure and sickle cell anemia.
  • Corneas that are thin in the center.


What causes glaucoma to worsen?

Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive eye disease caused by damage to the optic nerve, which leads to visual field loss. One of the major risk factors is eye pressure. An abnormality in the eye's drainage system can cause fluid to build up, leading to excessive pressure that causes damage to the optic nerve.

How can I lower my eye pressure immediately?

How Do I Lower My Intraocular Pressure
  1. Eat a Healthy Diet. Eating a healthy and balanced diet is helpful when managing your eye pressure. ...
  2. Exercise. Moving your body is important for your health. ...
  3. Reduce Your Caffeine Intake. ...
  4. Elevate Your Head While Sleeping. ...
  5. Medications.


Can I take Tylenol if I have glaucoma?

Non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs can contribute to glaucoma risk. They include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Bayer, Aleve), flurbiprofen, ketoprofen and naproxen sodium. Also Tylenol (acetaminophen), though not an NSAID, can be harmful.

What is the newest treatment for glaucoma?

Related: What's new in glaucoma medications

Netarsudil has been combined with latanoprost to create Rocklatan (Aerie), an effective combination medication. Rocklatan offers the highest average IOP reduction of any single glaucoma medication: 30% to 36% from baseline.

What is the safest medication for glaucoma?

Prostaglandin eye drops are considered the most effective class of medication for glaucoma. They also only need to be used once daily and don't usually cause a lot of side effects.


Do any medications cause glaucoma?

Acute angle closure glaucoma is an ophthalmic emergency and can lead to blindness if left untreated. Several types of drugs have the potential to precipitate acute angle closure glaucoma. These include adrenergic, cholinergic and anticholinergic, antidepressants, anticoagulants and sulfa-based agents.

What is the best vitamin to prevent glaucoma?

Studies show that eating foods rich in retinol (Vitamin A), beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin may help reduce the risk or help prevent glaucoma and maintain healthy eyesight for people at higher risk.

Should you avoid caffeine with glaucoma?

Caffeine can increase eye pressure, which is problematic for patients with glaucoma because it's the primary factor that causes the disease to develop. Glaucoma develops when fluid builds up in the front part of the eye and increases pressure on the optic nerve.


Can you take blood pressure medicine if you have glaucoma?

Taking high blood pressure medication can affect the eyes of people who have glaucoma. In glaucoma there is an elevated pressure in the eye.

Can I take ibuprofen if I have glaucoma?

Take medicines exactly as prescribed. You may use acetaminophen or ibuprofen to control pain, unless another medicine was prescribed.

How do you feel when your eye pressure is high?

A mildly high eye pressure does not cause any noticeable symptoms or pain, but a very high pressure (likely 35 or higher) can cause pain in and around the eye and nausea or vomiting. That's one reason for you to see an ophthalmologist or optometrist regularly.


What is normal eye pressure for seniors?

Normal eye pressure is between 10 to 21 mm Hg. High intraocular pressure is greater than 21 mm Hg.

What is the best eye drop for high eye pressure?

Latanoprost lowers the pressure in your eye by reducing the build-up of fluids. Usually you use latanoprost eyedrops once a day. The eyedrops should help reduce the pressure within 3 to 4 hours.

How long do you keep your eyes shut after putting in glaucoma drops?

Close and Press

However, in order to help the eye drop penetrate your eye, the easiest thing to do is to keep your eyes closed for 2 minutes after instilling the drop because blinking activates the “pump” that drains your tears away from the eyeball.


Which type of glaucoma is the most serious?

Certain drugs and eye diseases can cause yet another form of the disease, called secondary glaucoma. But probably the most serious form of the disease is closed-angle glaucoma. It occurs when the angle becomes suddenly blocked, causing pressure in the eye to rise sharply.

Can you stop glaucoma from progressing?

Take Action to Prevent Vision Loss

If you are in a high-risk group, get a comprehensive dilated eye exam to catch glaucoma early and start treatment. Prescription eye drops can stop glaucoma from progressing. Your eye care specialist will recommend how often to return for follow-up exams.

Does watching TV affect glaucoma?

If your eyes become tired with prolonged concentration, you can rest them periodically - but please don't worry that you have done them any harm. Similarly, longer distance viewing such as driving, watching TV or going to the movies does not harm your eyes.


How can I reverse glaucoma naturally?

For this question, the answer is no. Once a person is diagnosed with glaucoma, there is currently no cure for the condition so that it can be reversed, and no way to undo the damage already done in terms of vision loss.

What is end stage glaucoma?

End-stage glaucoma is a stage of glaucoma, which has progressed to a stage where visual acuity is severely decreased. In end-stage glaucoma, visual field is <10 or a visual acuity of 20/200 which is attributed to glaucoma.