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Why Some Glaucoma Patients Are Miserable
Glaucoma patients have a lot on their minds.
First, they are coping with the potential for irreversible vision loss.
Next, they often have to take pressure-lowering eyedrops several times a day. This can become a complicated routine, especially for older adults.
Of course, these folks have to find a way to pay for their medications.
Besides that, many glaucoma patients experience chronic eye discomfort. New research implicates a preservative in the eyedrops as the culprit.
Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) has been used for decades to keep eyedrop medications sterile. Most bottles of eyedrops are intended to be used for a month or more. These bottles are stored in pockets and purses, atop desks and bathroom sinks. They are opened and handled by humans several times a day and, guess what, humans are inadvertently unsanitary at times. BAK keeps the medication safe and germ-free.
Good protection, however, comes at a price.
Glaucoma researchers writing in the August 2008 issue of Journal of Glaucoma identify BAK as a leading contributor to ocular surface abnormalities. By ocular surface we mean the multilayered tear film that coats the eyeball: a water layer, a mucus layer, and an outer oily layer that prevents tear evaporation. If you have a unbalanced tear film your eyes will feel bad and look bad.
The doctors studied 109 adults taking anti-glaucoma eyedrops. Each patient completed an Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire and underwent evaluation by Schirmer test, corneal and conjunctival lissamine green staining, and tear break-up time. It turns out that 65% of subjects had tear film abnormalities and prescription eyedrops with BAK twice as often generated chronic eye discomfort.
The researchers concluded that a large proportion of patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension had signs and/or symptoms of ocular surface disease in at least 1 eye. The coexistence of ocular surface disease and the use of BAK-containing medications may impact vision-related quality of life in this patient population.
Bottom line: If you take eyedrops for glaucoma and your eyes feel irritated or look irritated ask your doctor if your eyedrops contain BAK and if an alternative BAK-free eyedrop can be substituted.
REFERENCE: Journal of Glaucoma, August 2008, pages: 350-355
Related Topics:
First, they are coping with the potential for irreversible vision loss.
Next, they often have to take pressure-lowering eyedrops several times a day. This can become a complicated routine, especially for older adults.
Of course, these folks have to find a way to pay for their medications.
Besides that, many glaucoma patients experience chronic eye discomfort. New research implicates a preservative in the eyedrops as the culprit.
Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) has been used for decades to keep eyedrop medications sterile. Most bottles of eyedrops are intended to be used for a month or more. These bottles are stored in pockets and purses, atop desks and bathroom sinks. They are opened and handled by humans several times a day and, guess what, humans are inadvertently unsanitary at times. BAK keeps the medication safe and germ-free.
Good protection, however, comes at a price.
Glaucoma researchers writing in the August 2008 issue of Journal of Glaucoma identify BAK as a leading contributor to ocular surface abnormalities. By ocular surface we mean the multilayered tear film that coats the eyeball: a water layer, a mucus layer, and an outer oily layer that prevents tear evaporation. If you have a unbalanced tear film your eyes will feel bad and look bad.
The doctors studied 109 adults taking anti-glaucoma eyedrops. Each patient completed an Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire and underwent evaluation by Schirmer test, corneal and conjunctival lissamine green staining, and tear break-up time. It turns out that 65% of subjects had tear film abnormalities and prescription eyedrops with BAK twice as often generated chronic eye discomfort.
The researchers concluded that a large proportion of patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension had signs and/or symptoms of ocular surface disease in at least 1 eye. The coexistence of ocular surface disease and the use of BAK-containing medications may impact vision-related quality of life in this patient population.
Bottom line: If you take eyedrops for glaucoma and your eyes feel irritated or look irritated ask your doctor if your eyedrops contain BAK and if an alternative BAK-free eyedrop can be substituted.
REFERENCE: Journal of Glaucoma, August 2008, pages: 350-355
Related Topics:
