Betoptic

• Twist off the bottle cap. Hold the bottle pointing down, between your thumb and fingers. Tilt your head back. Pull down your lower eyelid with a finger, until there is a 'pocket' between the eyelid and your eye. The drop will go in here.
• Bring the bottle tip close to the eye. Do this in front of a mirror if it helps. Do not touch your eye or eyelid, surrounding areas or other surfaces with the dropper. It could infect the drops. Gently press on the base of the bottle to release one drop at a time.
• Do not squeeze the bottle, only a gentle press on the bottom is needed. Put the bottle cap firmly back on immediately after use. If a drop misses your eye, try again.

What’s the dose?

The usual dose is 1 drop in the affected eye(s) twice daily.

Could it interact with other tablets?

• Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription. BETOPTIC 0.5% may have effects on other medicines that you are also taking for heart disease or high blood pressure, such as other beta-blockers taken by mouth or reserpine and some medicines used to treat emotional, behavioural or mental disorders such as anxiety or depression.
• If you are using more than one type of eye drop, wait 15 minutes between using each one.

Herbal products should also only be taken after talking with your doctor.

What are the possible risks or side-effects?

Like all medicines, BETOPTIC 0.5% can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. You may experience some or all of the following effects in your eye(s):

Common (affect 1 to 10 people in 100):

• Stinging and burning, eye irritation, redness.

Uncommon (affect 1 to 10 people in 1000):

• Itching, watery eyes, blurred vision, feeling of something in the eye, sensitivity to light.

Rare (affect fewer than 1 in 1000 people):

• Dry eye(s), drooping of the eyelid, loss of eyelashes.

You may also experience effects in other areas of your body including:

• Slow heart beat
• shortness of breath
• wheezing
• sleeplessness
• headache
• depression
• hair loss
• muscular weakness
• muscular pain

Because eye drops containing beta blockers can be absorbed into your bloodstream, undesirable effects found when beta blockers are taken by mouth or injection may also occur with the eye drops.

These effects include:

• Abnormal heart beat
• low blood pressure
• heart failure
• numb or tingling sensations or leg pains (especially if you have a history of poor circulation)
• tiredness
• dizziness
• mental confusion
• hallucinations
• abnormal thinking
• impotence
• nightmares
• stomach upset
• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhoea
• skin problems (especially rash)

If any of the side effects get serious, or you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, tell your doctor or pharmacist.

Can I drink alcohol while taking it?

• There are no known interactions between alcohol and Betoptic.
• Always ask you doctor or pharmacist however as other medications you are taking may have a bearing on this.

What if I’m pregnant/breastfeeding?

If you are pregnant or might get pregnant, or if you are breast-feeding a baby, talk to your doctor before you use Betoptic.

If you have any more questions please ask your Pharmacist.

Remember to keep all medicines out of reach of children
Please Note: We have made every effort to ensure that the content of this information sheet is correct at time of publish, but remember that information about drugs may change. This sheet does not list all the uses and side-effects associated with this drug. For full details please see the drug information leaflet which comes with your medicine. Your doctor will assess your medical circumstances and draw your attention to any information or side-effects which may be relevant in your particular case.

References:

https://www.google.ie/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=betoptic+wikapedia

http://www.drugs.com/pro/betoptic.html

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/betoptic-side-effects.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/betaxolol_ophthalmic/article.htm

http://www.rxlist.com/betoptic-s-drug.htm