How alcohol consumption correlates with glaucoma
With the advent of electronic health records, it is now easier than ever to keep up with what medications a patient is actually taking, and (especially in the arena of glaucoma) the several classes of medications, such as steroids, beta blockers, and antihistamines, that can influence how patients’ eyes behave. With this in mind, I had a patient come in the other day with an interesting question regarding her intraocular pressure (IOP).
With the advent of electronic health records, it is now easier than ever to keep up with what medications a patient is actually taking, and (especially in the arena of glaucoma) the several classes of medications, such as steroids, beta blockers, and antihistamines, that can influence how patients’ eyes behave. With this in mind, I had a patient come in the other day with an interesting question regarding her intraocular pressure (IOP).
More glaucoma:
She is a 74-year-old African-American female with a longstanding history of bilateral primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). She has been stable for several years now and uses a prostaglandin analog in each eye at bedtime. Her medical history is remarkable for hypothyroidism, systemic hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia-all of which are all reportedly under good control. Her systemic medications include Synthroid (levothyroxine, AbbVie), lisinopril (Prinivil, Merck)/hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide, Watson Laboratories), and simvastatin (Zocor, Merck). She also supplements with fish oil daily in the form of a pill.
She presented for a three-month IOP check with entering best-corrected visual acuities of 20/20 in each eye. Pupils were normal, as were the anterior segments. Intraocular pressures by means of Goldmann applanation tonometry were 13 mm Hg in the right eye and 15 mm Hg in the left eye at 2:45 p.m. Undilated optic nerve evaluation by means of pre-corneal lens revealed no Drance hemorrhages. After asking her if she needed any refills of her drops and recommending she schedule another three-month follow-up appointment, she asked me an interesting question.
More from Dr. Casella:
“Let me ask you something,” she said. “My girlfriends and I play bridge and drink on Saturdays. Is that going to affect my eye pressure?” I asked her how much she drank, and she said, “Just a little gin while we play.”
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