For many of us as we age, prescription medication becomes a routine of daily life. We take them in stride and tend to overlook the side effects. However, when it comes to your vision health, the professionals here at Scottsdale Eye Physicians & Surgeons want you to recognize how important it is to talk to your family physician about these side effects, as many of them could directly affect your eyes. Step One: Communicate With Your Physician The most important detail not to overlook is to maintain open communication with your family physician. When you are initially prescribed any type of medication, either for allergies or arthritis, you must have a forthright discussion regarding all of the side effects. Be sure to make your physician aware of any vision problems you’ve experienced in the past, or any that you are experiencing currently. And once on the medication, if you experience any vision problems tell your physician immediately. Catching any symptoms early can prevent permanent damage to your vision. Step Two: Know Which Medications Are Potentially Harmful Acne Medication: In some cases, when acne does not respond to more traditional treatments, Isotretinoin (brand names: Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotret) is used. Isotretinoin side effects can include dry eyes and decreased night vision. If you experience these side effects, talk to your physician immediately. Antihistamines: It’s fairly well known that antihistamines can cause dry eye, but did you know they can also cause blurred vision, severe eye pain, and even can cause you to see halos around lights? Angle-closure glaucoma is an emergency condition and needs immediate medical attention. Antimalarial Drugs: These drugs are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and have a rare, but serious, side effect that could lead to permanent vision loss. Retinal toxicity is dose related, meaning that it is greatly dependent on how long you’ve been taking the antimalarial drugs (brand names: Plaquenil, Quineprox, Aralen). You’ll also need an eye exam before being prescribed this form of medication to make absolutely sure your eyes are healthy enough. Corticosteroids: Prednisone is a popularly prescribed treatment for arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, severe allergies and breathing disorders. Prednisone is also known to increase a patient’s risk for developing cataracts or glaucoma. If you notice eye pain, halos around the eyes or blurred vision, see your physician immediately. Erectile Dysfunction Drugs: Some ED drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have shown side effects of blurred vision, sensitivity to light and vision color changes. Once again, if you notice any vision changes while taking an ED, call your doctor immediately. Flomax: Flomax is a prescription medication used to treat men with enlarged prostates, relaxing the muscles allowing them to pass urine more easily. Unfortunately, this alpha blocker has been known to build up in the iris of the eye, causing intraoperative floppy iris syndrome, which essentially makes eye surgery extremely difficult. If you are considering cataract surgery, talk to the professionals at Scottsdale Eye Physicians & Surgeons about Flomax and how it might impact the surgery. Step Three: Talk To Your Ophthalmologist Just as with step one, maintaining open lines of productive communication with your ophthalmologist is key to avoiding many of the more permanent problems with your vision. In any one of these cases, the best medicine is early detection and treatment. Should you experience blurry vision, eye pain, haloes, color changes, or any changes in your vision, call your ophthalmologist immediately.

To bring awareness to Healthy Aging Month, our staff at Scottsdale Eye Physicians & Surgeons feel this is the greatest opportunity to elaborate on the harmful effects of smoking and how even second-hand smoke can be detrimental to your eyes and the vision of those you love. As a health-conscious Scottsdale resident, you are probably well aware of the catastrophic health implications related to smoking (heart disease, cancer, etc), but did you know that smoking is the single largest preventable cause of many vision conditions as well? Smoking contributes to cataracts, macular degeneration, uveitis, diabetic retinopathy, even infant eye disease and vision loss. My hope is that you educate yourself during Healthy Aging Month and kick the habit.