The ocular system, because of its rich blood supply and relatively small mass, may exhibit a particular susceptibility to certain toxic and allergic side effects of medications, not only those delivered directly to the eye, but also with systemic administration.
There are thousands of drugs and drug classes with the potential to impact both quantity and quality of vision, so questioning patients carefully about any medications they are currently taking, have recently taken, or have taken in the past is an important component of Healthy Sight Counseling.
Topical and systemic and prescription and nonprescription agents must all be considered.
This section focuses primarily on the effects that medications may have on Healthy Sight while they are being taken. But it’s important to keep in mind that many medications may exert long-term effects on the optical system, even long after they have been discontinued.
More information on the impact of medications on Healthy Sight in the future can be found here: Healthy Sight in the Future: Medications.
In addition, information on Healthy Sight Counseling for Patients on medications that may affect vision and ocular health is also available.
It may not be possible for vision care practitioners to be familiar with all the potential ocular side effects of every drug, but they must be aware that drugs can affect vision and ocular health and maintain a high index of suspicion about the potential role of medications in contributing to unusual visual or ocular complaints.
Click here to search the Medications and Ocular Side Effects Database