Travoprost

What travoprost is used for

Travoprost is a prostaglandin analogue — a laboratory copy of a chemical the body makes itself — supplied as eye drops for open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension (pressure inside the eye that is higher than it should be). In open-angle glaucoma the drainage channels of the eye narrow over time, fluid collects, and the rising pressure gradually damages the optic nerve, which carries what you see to the brain. Ocular hypertension is the same high pressure before any nerve damage has appeared. Neither is a short-term problem, so the drops are used day after day.

How it lowers eye pressure

The eye is filled with a watery fluid that drains away through a mesh at the front. Travoprost opens a second exit route, the uveoscleral pathway — the tissue spaces behind the eye's middle layer — so more fluid can leave. That is a different approach from beta-blocker drops such as timolol, which slow fluid production, and the two are often used together when one alone is not enough. Pressure falls while the drops are used and drifts back up when they stop.

Using the drops

One drop in each eye that needs treatment, once a day, in the evening — the timing suits the natural overnight rise in eye pressure and is easy to tie to a bedtime routine. Do not use it more often hoping for a stronger effect; dosing more than once daily can weaken the pressure-lowering effect instead of adding to it. If other eye drops are part of your routine, leave at least five minutes between them, or the second drop may wash the first off the eye. Keep the bottle in its box, out of sunlight, and screw the cap back on straight away.

Side effects

Redness, stinging, itching or a gritty feeling in the treated eye is common and often eases as the eye gets used to the drops; short-lived blurred vision after each dose is normal too. Over months, the eyelashes on the treated side tend to grow longer, thicker and darker — some people like the effect, others do not. Travoprost works inside the eye rather than throughout the body, so it causes fewer whole-body effects than tablets do. Sudden loss of vision, severe eye pain, or swelling of the eyelids and face needs urgent treatment.

Travatan and travoprost bottles

Two travoprost listings are on the shelf: Travatan, shown as 2.5ml bottles, and Travoprost, shown at 0.004%. Both are bottles of the same eye drop under different names, and both sit in Eye Care with the rest of the eye pressure range. Pick the name and bottle size you want.