However, it can cause increased intracranial pressure already taking. For instance, gingko biloba causes and , which can cause permanent vision patients to have a longer bleeding time, so it can loss if it’s not reversed. Patients may get a headache make people who take blood thinners more prone to from the high pressure, but some do not. bleeding.

HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE STEROIDS Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) is used to treat Steroids, such as Glucocorticoids (Prednisone), are malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It is a known photosensitizing drugs (drugs that increase your retinal toxin, and the effects are irreversible. sensitivity to the sun) and undergo a photochemical reaction resulting in chemical modification of tissue. ETHAMBUTOL They can make you more susceptible to and This drug is widely used to treat mycobacterial . disease, including tuberculosis (TB). If it is not taken at safe doses, it is an toxin. The damage typically occurs slowly and progressively in both eyes, and it is usually irreversible.

TOPIRAMATE Topiramate (Topamax) is used to treat epilepsy and migraine headaches, and it is used off-label for weight loss. It can cause angle-closure soon after starting treatment.

ANTICHOLINERGICS Dicyclomine (Bentyl), and other drugs with anticholinergic effects, are administered to patients who have stomach conditions that require stomach Central serous choroidopathy (CSC, CSR) can be relaxers and to patients with Parkinson’s disease. triggered or aggravated by corticosteroids, such as Young patients taking these drugs will develop cortisone, or they can cause a relapse. difficulty with . Steroids contribute to cataracts, glaucoma and ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION DRUGS macular degeneration. Steroids work by mimicking Sildenafil citrate (Viagra) and tadalafil (Cialis) are body's own hormones to fight inflammation and are often prescribed for men with erectile dysfunction. often prescribed for such diseases as rheumatoid These drugs divert blood flow away from the head, arthritis, Crohn's Disease, and lupus. Long term and they cause two problems. First, they can steroid use can contribute cataracts and increases in cause blue vision and patients can also see intraocular pressure in up to 50% of people who take shimmering around objects. These drugs can also daily doses of 10 to 15 milligrams of prednisone over cause central serous , which is a a period of one to two years. Cataracts caused by collection of fluid in the macula in the back of steroids are very dense and can cause a rapid loss of vision. the eye, and they can also cause . Though not as common as the development of cataracts, another side effect of continued steroid HERBAL MEDICATIONS treatment is increased intraocular pressure, which can Basically half of the population takes some sort of lead to glaucoma and optic nerve damage. If one nutritional supplement or herbal medicine, and half of stops taking steroids regularly pressures will return to those people don’t tell their doctors about it because normal, but damage done by the elevated eye pressure they don’t think it’s pertinent. However, it can be will remain. Steroid use can cause an increase in pertinent, because sometimes herbal medications can blood sugar therefore leading to diabetes, which can interact with prescription medicines the patient is then lead to . If you must take

Do you have any enquiry regarding your eye? Write to us at: [email protected] steroids, be sure to take high doses of antioxidants macular degeneration. such as alpha lipoic acid, lutein, vitamin C and vitamin E. CONCLUSIONS Never change or stop taking your medications RECREATIONAL DRUGS without talking with your doctor. If you are about to Cocaine has been shown to lead to retinal artery run out of medication, ask your doctor if you should occlusion, rapid and often irreversible loss of vision. have it refilled. Cocaine can lead to corneal ulcers that may be infected with bacteria or might be sterile. If you have any eye problem, it is important to tell Smoking tobacco increases the risk of macular your ophthalmologist about your other medical degeneration, optic nerve damage and formation of conditions and all other medications you currently cataracts. take. Bring a list of your medications with you to your eye appointment. Also tell your primary care Many recreational drugs make you more light doctor and any other doctors caring for you what sensitive, cause photochemical tissue changes and medication you take. may make you more vulnerable to cataracts and

3. A stye is caused by staphylococcal bacteria. This bacterium is found in the nose and is transferred easily to the eye when you rub your nose, then your eye.

4. Styes are contagious, but... Pretty much everyone has this stye-causing bacteria in their body. We all, at any age, have the potential to develop a stye without outside contamination. Still, if you have a stye, you don't want the bacteria within to come into contact with someone else's eye. This might indeed cause them to develop a stye or other A stye (medical term: hordeolum) develops when an infection as well. So keep your eyes and hands clean, oil gland at the edge of an becomes infected. and don't share pillowcases, bedsheets, washcloths or Resembling a pimple on the eyelid, a stye can grow towels with others. on the inside or outside of the lid. 5. Most styes heal on their own within a few days. Here are seven things to know about eye styes: You can encourage this process by applying hot compresses for 10 to 15 minutes, three or four times a 1. The first signs are , redness, swelling and day, over the course of several days. tenderness. After symptoms appear, a small pimple will develop This will relieve the pain and bring the stye to a head, in the affected area. Usually this is accompanied by much like a pimple. In most cases, the stye will then swollen eyes. Sometimes just the immediate area is rupture, drain and heal without further intervention. swollen; at other times, the entire eyelid swells.

6. Never "pop" a stye. 2. Styes typically don't cause vision problems. You shouldn't pop a style like you would a pimple. Your ability to see well at either near or distance Allow the stye to rupture on its own. shouldn't be affected by a stye. A stye that forms inside the eyelid (called an internal hordeolum) might not rupture and heal on its own.

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Because this type of stye can be more serious, Chalazia: Bumps That Aren't Styes your eye doctor may need to open and drain it. Often mistaken for a stye, a (shah-LAY- zee-on or kah-LAY-zee-on) is an enlarged, blocked If you have frequent styes, your eye doctor may want oil gland in the eyelid. A chalazion mimics a stye for to prescribe an ointment to prevent a the first few days, then turns into a painless hard, recurrence. He or she also might recommend using round bump later on. pre-moistened eyelid cleaning pads for daily lid hygiene, to reduce the risk of styes and . Most chalazia develop farther from the eyelid edge than styes. 7. Other eye issues can accompany styes. Although the same treatment used for a stye speeds With a stye, you may notice frequent watering in the the healing of a chalazion, the bump may linger for affected eye, increased light sensitivity and a feeling one to several months. If the chalazion remains after like something is in your eye (eye doctors call this a several months, your eye doctor may drain it or inject "foreign body sensation"). a steroid to facilitate healing.

Source: http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/styes.htm

ACTIVITIES OF LEC

UTP Human Resource Open Day 2nd December 2015 Free Eye Screening at Universiti Technologi Petronas

Registration Checking Eye Power for Eye Screening given by Participants Dr Ummi Kalsom

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