Abuse of corticosteroids, eye drops containing corticosteroids: Unpredictable complications

When suffering from pinkeye, people often arbitrarily buy medicine to use without the doctor's appointment. If the patient uses the wrong medication, prolonged abuse of the drug may cause even more serious illnesses and dangerous complications.

The cause of rapid eye redness spread in the community is due to changes in weather, heavy rain, high humidity . Also, due to poor hygiene, too close contact with sick people or dirty hands themselves are agents that spread the disease.

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Facing this situation, many patients, especially in rural areas, have voluntarily purchased corticosteroids and eye drops containing used steroids . These drugs in an ingredient often have an antibiotic: polymyxin, neomyxin or chloramphenicol (effective against infections), and an ingredient is corticosteroids such as dexamethazon (has a very good anti-inflammatory effect). When investigating, small drugs containing these components will quickly reduce red eyes, the patients feel comfortable, so they like to use and also spread the word to each other. Many people also think that this is a precious medicine, so it should be stored in the house.

Due to the strong anti-inflammatory effect, the drug is not only used effectively in the treatment of pinkeye and is also used in diseases such as conjunctivitis, uveitis, sclerosis, blepharitis . However If the patient is not using it properly, abuse of drugs or prolonged medication will cause drug-related complications such as allergies, aggravating the disease (for example, if the patient has a corneal ulcer or herpes ulcer, if Small corticosteroids will cause outbreaks and worsening, causing complications of corneal perforation or will make the ulcer wider, long scarring and can lead to corneal perforation, blindness).

This is also a medicine with many dangerous side effects. The most serious is that if used long-term can lead to cataracts (with a blurry look like through a layer of fog, the sun is dazzling, eyesight is greatly reduced). The frightening complication of corticoid eye drops is causing glaucoma, leading to optic nerve damage and permanent vision loss. Usually glaucoma does not have any symptoms, but it progresses smoldering with the long duration of the patient's withdrawal, until the patient feels vision loss is when the disease is very advanced. If patients know early, come to an ophthalmologist, they will be treated with medication to reduce eye pressure. If the eye drops have corticosteroids, the eye pressure will return to normal. In case of too late arrival, there is only surgery but sometimes it does not save eyesight.

A study on the evaluation of the recent surgical results of corticosteroids in children of Central Eye Hospital showed that the majority of children with glaucoma caused by prolonged corticosteroids came to the stage with severe disease. loud, heavy. The surgical result only preserves a part of the visual and market functions for patients. A small proportion of the disease continues to progress, the success rate after surgery decreases with time. This situation shows that prophylaxis is still the best method for corticosteroids caused by steroids.

To avoid the above consequences, when seeing red eyes, patients need to see an ophthalmologist immediately to be examined and use the right medicine.Absolutely not arbitrarily buy eye drops on use, especially drugs containing corticosteroids . In case of a small need for a long time, it is necessary to have a doctor's supervision.

Doctor Hoang Thu Thuy