Cosopt
Cosopt is a dorzolamide and timolol eye drop, 2/0.5%, for glaucoma and ocular hypertension (high pressure inside the eye), sold in packs of 1, 2 or 3 bottles.
- Category
- Eye Care
- Active ingredient
- Dorzolamide · Timolol
- Route
- Ophthalmic
- Form
- Eye drops
- Strengths
- 2/0.5%
You will receive a quality generic equivalent, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Glaucoma · Ocular hypertension
- Therapeutic Class
- Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitor, Beta-blocker
- Pharmacological Class
- Sulfonamide derivative, Beta-adrenergic antagonist
- Minor Side Effects
- Eye stinging, Bitter taste
- Moderate Side Effects
- Blurred vision, Burning sensation
- Dosage Forms
- Eye drops
- Administration Route
- Ophthalmic
- Originator
- Santen Pharmaceutical
- Onset Time
- 1–2 hours
- Duration
- 12 hours
- Storage Instructions
- Store at room temperature.
- Drug Interactions
- Oral sulfonamides, Systemic beta-blockers
- Age Restrictions
- Consult a specialist for paediatric use.
What you will receive
Cosopt is the originator brand name, made by Santen Pharmaceutical. We use it to identify the medicine; the pack you receive is a generic equivalent, not the original Cosopt.
- The same active ingredient (Dorzolamide / Timolol) at the same strength.
- The exact brand supplied depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
FAQ
Which Cosopt strengths and pack sizes can I order?
Cosopt comes as bottles in 2/0.5%. You can order packs of 1, 2 or 3 bottles. Larger packs cost less per bottle. It is generic dorzolamide + timolol, not the original Cosopt.
How are generic dorzolamide + timolol bottles delivered to Hong Kong?
Your generic dorzolamide + timolol bottles arrive by tracked courier, taking 5 to 9 business days with online tracking. Every order ships in plain, unbranded packaging with nothing outside about the contents. If a parcel does not arrive within the delivery window, or arrives damaged, it is sent again free.
What does 2/0.5% mean on a Cosopt bottle?
It is the strength of the two medicines together. The first figure, 2%, is dorzolamide and the second, 0.5%, is timolol, so a bottle marked 2/0.5% holds both at those strengths. That is the only combination sold here.
How do I put the drops in?
Rest your head back, ease the lower eyelid down a little and let one drop fall into the gap. Then shut the eye and hold a finger against the corner nearest the nose for a minute. Keeping the tip away from your eye, lashes and fingers stops the bottle picking up germs.
Can I wear contact lenses while using Cosopt?
Take soft lenses out before putting the drop in and leave them out for a quarter of an hour afterwards. The preservative in the bottle, benzalkonium chloride, can build up on a soft lens, and the lens itself blocks the drop from spreading evenly over the eye.
Does Cosopt affect heart rate or blood pressure?
Timolol is a beta-blocker and a little of it passes into the blood through the tear duct. It can deepen the pulse-slowing and blood-pressure-lowering effects of beta-blocker tablets or another beta-blocker eye drop. A pulse that feels unusually slow, dizziness when standing up, or breathlessness that is new are the signs to notice.
How long does an opened Cosopt bottle keep?
Four weeks. Count from the day the seal is first broken and begin a new bottle after that, even if there is liquid left, because the preservative only protects the drops for so long. Writing the opening date on the bottle saves guessing.
About Cosopt
Bringing eye pressure down
Cosopt is for eyes whose internal pressure is too high. That covers open-angle glaucoma, where the optic nerve is already being damaged, and ocular hypertension, where the pressure reading is high but the nerve still looks healthy. Pressure that stays high keeps working on the nerve. One bottle holds two pressure-lowering medicines, dorzolamide 2% and timolol 0.5%, which is the 2/0.5% printed on the label.
What each medicine does
The eye makes a fluid that fills its front chamber, and that fluid has to drain away at the same rate. Dorzolamide slows the production side: it blocks carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme involved in making the fluid. Timolol is a beta-blocker, and it shuts down the receptors that keep production going. With both blocked, the eye makes less fluid and the pressure falls. Neither ingredient cures glaucoma; they hold the pressure steady for as long as they are used.
Putting the drops in
One drop in each eye, morning and evening, twelve hours apart. Wash your hands, then hold the bottle over the eye and let a single drop land on the surface; the tip should not touch your eye, your lashes or anything else. Close the eye for a minute and press gently where the eye meets the nose — this keeps the medicine on the eye instead of letting it run down the tear duct, which is what causes the bitter taste at the back of the mouth. Using another eye medicine as well? Leave about ten minutes between them. Vision may blur briefly after a drop.
Side effects to expect
Some stinging or burning when the drop goes in is common, along with redness, watering or a headache; these pass quickly. The taste is the one people mention most, and it fades within minutes. Timolol is absorbed in small amounts, so a pulse that feels slower than usual, light-headedness, or breathlessness that is new can be traced to the drop, and beta-blocker tablets or other beta-blocker eye drops strengthen that effect. Dorzolamide is a sulfonamide; a reaction that swells the face, lips or throat, or makes breathing suddenly difficult, needs urgent treatment.
Packs, storage and single-ingredient options
Cosopt arrives as a 2/0.5% bottle; choose a pack of one, two or three. Put the cap back on after each dose and store the bottle away from sunlight. A preserved bottle that has been open for four weeks should be thrown away and a new one started. Dorzolamide and timolol also come on their own, as dorzolamide and timolol, for anyone who needs just one of the two.
Sources
- Dorzolamide Ophthalmic: MedlinePlus Drug Information — National Library of Medicine
- Timolol Ophthalmic: MedlinePlus Drug Information — National Library of Medicine