How the Medication Works:
Lowers the pressure within the eye by reducing the amount of fluid (aqueous humor) secreted into the eye. The pressure within the eye is decreased as a result of less fluid production.
Directions for Taking the Medication:
One eye-drop, twice a day (morning and evening). In certain cases the medication is given 3 times a day.
Advantages of this Medication:
It has replaced the need, for most patients, to take pills such as Diamox, Uramox, or Neptazane. This medication, administered as eye-drops, has much fewer side-effects than do the pills mentioned above.
Family of Medication:
Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors.
Side-effects:
Eye-drops which belong to the group of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors have limited systemic effects. The most common side-effects of these drops are a bitter (metallic) taste in the mouth, changes in the sense of taste, and local irritation and redness of the eye.
Additional Information:
This group of medications (albeit in pill form) has been in use for the treatment of glaucoma for decades. However, eye-drops that belong to this group (Trusopt) have only been available for the past few years. When instilling these drops, the patient will likely feel a strong burning sensation that may last 10 seconds or slightly more. This is a normal phenomenon and not a side-effect.
