What You Should Know About Using Prostaglandins to Treat Glaucoma

When it comes to glaucoma, Boulder residents want to make sure that they are using the right medications. Your doctor will help you to choose the drugs that will benefit you the most. Prostaglandins are a popular option for treating glaucoma. However, you want to better understand this drug so that you know why it was prescribed.

Commonly Used Prostaglandins

There are several options that your doctor can choose from when it comes to prescribing prostaglandin eye drops for glaucoma. Commonly prescribed options include Xalatan and Lumigan.

Purpose of Prostaglandins

This class of medications is generally prescribed in an eye drop form. They work to reduce eye pressure. This is done by helping to heighten the overall eye fluid outflow from your eyes. The less fluid that is in your eyes, the lower the overall pressure in your eyes. 

What to Know Before Using Prostaglandins

Your doctor should be made aware of all medications you take and any medical conditions that you have before you start taking this type of drug. For example, you may need to refrain from breastfeeding while using this eye drop or it may not be able to be combined with diabetes or high blood pressure.

Proper Use of Prostaglandins

You have to make sure that these eye drops are used properly to gain the most benefit from them. It is critical that your hands are clean, so use soap and water to thoroughly cleanse your hands before applying these drops. The tip of the dropped should come close to your eye, but not contact it directly. Tilt your head back and pull down your lower eyelid. Gently squeeze the bottle and drop one drop into your eye. After you put the drop in, you should close your eye for approximately two minutes, not squeezing your eyelids and look toward the flood. Apply gentle pressure to your tear duct during this time. If you are prescribed more than one drop per eye, you should put them in approximately five minutes apart.

Precautions to Consider When Taking Prostaglandins

There are side effects that you can experience when you are using this class of medication. Some of the more common side effects include sleepiness, dry eyes, widened pupils, eye discomfort and redness, itchiness, tearing or swelling of the eye. If these side effects do not go away or they get worse, it is important that you let your doctor know right away.

As you can see, there is a lot of information to know about using prostaglandins to treat glaucoma Boulder. Knowing this information will help you to ensure that you are getting the full benefit out of using this medication.