What Are Some Of The Common Medications That Are Used To Treat Glaucoma, And Are Eyedrops Better Than Oral Medications?

Aug. 24, 2009— -- Question: What are some of the common medications that are used to treat glaucoma, and are the eyedrops better than the oral medications?

Answer: The most common class of medications that we use to treat glaucoma are the prostaglandins. There are three prostaglandins on the market today, and all of them decrease the pressure by going through what we call the uveoscleral outflow. And that sounds big, but it really decreases the pressure, and the more we can decrease the pressure the better we feel that we can help to prevent blindness or to stabilize your glaucoma. Most of the side effects of these medications are long lashes, long thick lashes. They also sometimes cause your eye to be red, slightly red. But oftentimes, with some of the medications the redness gets better. But it's very effective in reducing an individual's pressure and so we often use this as a first line because it's easy. You only take it once a day.