Flomax Eye Effects

Flomax is a drug that is commonly prescribed for urinary conditions, such as urinary tract infections or enlarged prostate. Despite the benefits of Flomax for your urinary health, it can negatively impact your eye health by causing cataracts retraction surgery complications. If you have cataracts, it is important to limit your use of Flomax to well before or well after any surgeries you may have scheduled.

The Eye

• Although your eyes are not considered vital organs, they are the main organs that facilitate sight. Each eye takes in light through the pupil, the hole in the center of the eye. To receive the optimum amount of light, each pupil is adjusted open or close by the iris (the colored part of the eye) based on the amount of light available. As the light travels through the pupil, it passes through a lens, which focuses the light onto the retina. The retina is a light sensitive tissue that lines the back the eye and reacts with the light to create chemical and electrical impulses. Next, these impulses move along the optical nerve to the brain, where they are interpreted into vision.

Flomax

• Flomax is a brand name of the drug tamsulosin, a drug that relaxes your blood vessels in an effort to have blood pass through them more easily. It is also used to relax prostate and bladder muscles so that you can urinate easier. Flomax is prescribed in capsules that should not be crushed or chewed. Instead, you should swallow each capsule whole and take it with a full glass of water. It also works better if you keep a constant level of the drug in your system, so take it at the same time each day.

Flomax Effects on the Eye

• Flomax has many side effects but one of the more serious ones is its effect on your eyes. Just as it relaxes the muscles in your urinary tract, it can relax the muscle that is located in your eye's iris. This can put you at risk of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome during cataract surgery. A cataract is clouding in the lens of your eye that can leave your sight either impaired or nonexistent. It can be corrected during surgery, but if you are taking Flomax, it can cause your iris to move during the surgery and cause complications.

Complications

• The eyes are delicate, intricate organs and surgery on the eyes is not without its risks, even when everything goes according to plan. Unsuccessful cataract surgery may make your eyesight worst than it was in the first place. Intraoperatvie floppy iris syndrome can cause complications in your cataract surgery, such as longer recovery time or more pain, as well as little or no eyesight improvement.

Prevention

• You should always inform your health care provider about all prescription and over the counter medications you are taking. In many cases, this will change his choices of treatment. If you are having cataract surgery and are taking Flomax, he may put you on another drug for your urinary problems. Alternatively, he may just wait until you are done taking Flomax and then attend to your eye problems. In either case, Flomax should be out of your system for at least two weeks before cataract retraction is attempted.