Real Time Pharmacology

Intraocular pressure---Glaucoma As new aqueous flows into your eye, balancing amount should drain out. This process maintains pressure in your eye balanced. But if the fluid builds up because of several reasons, pressure inside the eye called introcular pressure increases resulting in the optic nerve damage.   Glaucoma medications: Prostaglandin analogs   increase the drainage of fluid from the eye. These include: 1. Xalatan® ( latanoprost ),  2. Travatan Z® (Travoprost),  3. Lumigan® (bimatoprost),   and  4. Zioptan™ (tafluprost).  Beta blockers   such as timolol are the second most often used class of medications that work by decreasing production of fluid.  Alpha agonists  decreases production of fluid and increases drainage. 1. [Alphagan®P (brimonidine), Iopidine®]   2. Alphagan P has a purite preservative that breaks down into natural tear components and may be better tolerated in patients allergic to p...

Print Print Patient Education Medication Counseling Tell patient to report symptoms of respiratory depression  [14] [10] Instruct patient to avoid activities requiring mental alertness or coordination until drug effects are realized  [8] [4] [25] [10] . Tell patient to report symptoms of serotonin syndrome  [14] . Side effects may include headache, nausea, vomiting, somnolence, pruritus, dizziness, or insomnia  [14] . Instruct patient to report constipation and hypotension  [25] [10] . Advise patient to report symptoms of adrenal insufficiency  [14] . Tell patient to report symptoms of gastrointestinal blockage  [14] . With long-term use, advise patient against sudden discontinuation of drug.  [8] [4] [25] [10] Tell patient to swallow controlled-release tablet whole Crushing, chewing, cutting or dissolving the tablet may cause rapid release and absorption of a potentially fatal dose [14] . Instruct patient to av...