Beware of side effects of eye drops

Most antibiotic eyedrops. Using incorrectly or improperly can cause accidents.

The group contains only antibiotics

Eye drops containing chloramphenicol
(Photo: petplace)

This group includes special medicines containing common antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, tetracycline, especially for strong antibiotics such as cyprofloxacin, moxifloxacin .

Eye diseases sometimes appear superficially similar, but due to different pathogens, specific antibiotics need to be used, otherwise they will not survive but also create resistant strains. For example, conjunctivitis causes eye rupture, redness but if caused by bacteria must use chloramphenicol eye drops, if the virus must use tetracycline eye ointment, if due to gonorrhea, tetracycline eye fat should be used with penicillin injection. .

Some eye drops may cause some topical side effects that irritate the eyes. For example, eye drops moxifloxacin (bd: vigamox) reduces vision, dry eyes, keratitis, erectile dysfunction, eye pain, itchy eyes, sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. Usually these side effects appear less (when using low doses), appear more (when the need for high doses), will stop when the drug is stopped. In order to relieve discomfort in the eyes, it is sometimes necessary to use an alternating eye wash that has a lubricating effect, reducing irritation, making the eyes feel comfortable.

When using ophthalmic, there is a part of antibiotic that follows the blood vessels in the eye into the body, creating a plasma concentration that is not as high as when taken with the usual dose, but if small or overdose (more than 2 weeks), the drug can still cause some side effects such as drinking. This is more likely to occur with drugs with slow elimination rates. For this reason, only the right medicine, the right dose (the number of drops, the number of drops must be small) and not prolonged (more than 2 weeks).

Some drugs are easy to cause systemic effects, often indicating contraindications. For example, do not use chloramphenicol eye drops for newborns, myelosuppression. Do not use cyprofloxacin eye drops for pregnant and lactating women, children under 12 years old.

Some medications cause a systemic effect when taken but not yet fully informed when eye drops are often recommended with caution. For example, when giving pregnant rats a moxifloxacin dose of 500mg (equivalent to 21,000 times the total eye drops of the day) is used every day to see if the drug slows fetal growth and slows bone growth. Recommended only for people who are pregnant at the time of need or when there is no alternative after considering the benefits and risks.

Eye examination for appropriate drug treatment (Photo: TTO) While taking antibiotic eye drops, if there is another disease, it is necessary to take an antibiotic by mouth or by injection and be very careful to avoid adverse interactions . For example, when using chloramphenicol eye drops, do not take or inject gentamycin, tetracycline, cephalospo-rin, polimycin; When taking tetracycline eye drops, do not take or inject penicillin.

Some antibiotic eye drops have a very large antibacterial spectrum in the laboratory, but in clinical practice it is not necessarily effective for all strains of bacteria (because of low antibacterial intensity and concentration). In-place production at eye drops is not sufficient to inhibit bacteria.

These antibiotics, if used for a long time, can lead to an increase in the production of non-sensitive strains, causing another infection. For example, eye drops moxifloxacin is indicated for conjunctivitis due to a wide variety of bacteria, but if prolonged use, it also causes superinfection, including superinfection. One of the most common side effects in this medicine is conjunctivitis. New-generation antibiotics have a wide spectrum of antibacterial, if considered as a versatile drug, long-term use, it is easy to lead to this side effect.

Combined group of antibiotics and corticosteroids

This group includes corticosteroids with antibiotics (such as chlorocid-H containing hydrocortisone, chloramphenicol) or with 2 or 3 antibiotics (such as maxitrol containing dexamethasone, neomycin, polymycin).

Handy medicine for both anti-bacterial infection (due to antibiotics) has reduced inflammation (due to corticosteroids). However, the corticoid component in the drug reduces the body's resistance, reducing the effectiveness of existing antibiotics, aggravating the disease and facilitating secondary infections (including viruses and fungi). , slowing down the healing process, increasing intraocular pressure is likely to evolve into glaucoma, visual damage, irregular visual defect, cataract formation under the back cover, thinning the sclera leading to Eyeball perforation. Depending on the composition and rate of combination, each brand name drug is effective and side effects vary.

Therefore, using this drug only when the combination with the compatible dose in the product has sufficient anti-bacterial efficacy, the effect of corticosteroids is only limited (eg used in pre-part infections of eye) not widely used for all other infections or lesions (as it cannot be used in cases of severe infections, conjunctivitis due to viral infections, fungal infections, glaucoma injury due to tuberculosis, corneal ulcers, also epilepsy).

In rural areas, often monotonous eye drops are difficult to choose. In urban areas, eye drops are too much to make the right choices. Eye drops need to be used as directed by a physician. Do not see the important meaning of eye drops, not fully understand the side effects, many people using arbitrary eye drops are easy to cause complications. Be aware of the side effects of eye drops.