As an optometrist with 30 years experience and running my business Lifestyle Optical in the Sydney CBD, I understand the concerns of patients using prescribed eye drops for glaucoma. I am also surprised at how little patients know about why it is important to follow the advice of eye care practitioners .

Glaucoma is a common eye disease  that gradually causes  permanent peripheral vision loss affecting lifestyle joys like driving, walking, sports  and other daily activities involving mobility. Treating it is imperative to reducing vision loss.

There are 2 types of glaucoma:  

1.            Closed Angle Glaucoma -  symptoms include extreme pain, headaches/migraines, very red eye.

2.            Open angle glaucoma - often there are no symptoms at all. This type is detected with regular eye exams where we use sophisticated technology to measure the eye pressure, retinal nerve fibre layer and other internal areas of the eye.

Let's say you have been diagnosed with glaucoma and prescribed specialised eye drops. 

Why should you not stop using them?

Glaucoma eye drops work by lowering the intra-ocular pressure to a level that allows the eye to function normally and slows down vision loss- particularly peripheral vision. The problem with losing peripheral vision is that it is a GRADUAL process in glaucoma and you won't know it's happening until the changes are severe and irreversible.

Common things that happen to alert you that something is wrong with your vision are car accidents, bumping into walls or not tolerating night glare.    

So using the prescribed drops is MANDATORY. 

So why do glaucoma sufferer's STOP their drops and how does that affect the eyes?

According to glaucoma specialist Dr Noor Ali from Eagle Eye Surgeons glaucoma patients have 22% less tears than normal, suffering dry eyes. This means that the drops are irritating an already irritated eye.

The active ingredients and preservatives in drops can cause mild to severe side effects including:

Stinging/burning, redness, irritation, itchiness, swelling, constant watery eyes. These are not only painful but can cause embarrassment, low moods and anxiety. 

Some drops darken the colour of the eyes and increase eyelash length- if you only use drops in one eye (very common) the colour difference may upset you. 

Simply forgetting to put them in.

Running out of drops so skipping a few days/ weeks, maybe even missing them while on vacation. 

 My tips for drops management in glaucoma patients:

Talk to your doctor if the drops are causing you grief- they can swap them or suggest other treatments not requiring drops or introduce dry eye relief to help with the symptoms. Dr Ali says there are so many non-drop  treatments available today that eye irritations from drops doesn't need to affect you. 

Always have enough drops at hand (never run out).

Never substitute glaucoma eye drops with another type without your eye specialist's consent.

Always follow the prescribed dosage - 1 or 2 drops per day.

Set an alarm as a reminder to instil the drops.

If you need 2 drops a day keep the bottle with you so you don't miss out.

If you need one a day say at night, keep the bottle on the bedside table.

Learn how to properly use the drops - ask an eye care practitioner or pharmacist to show you, so you don't waste any trying to get them in.

Inform family members you require drops at certain times so they can also remind you.  

• glaucoma