Eye Drops Linked to DepressionEye drops used to treat glaucoma can cause depression in some people. Glaucoma, a disease of the eye in which the pressure inside the eye is too high, damages the optic nerve and leads to loss of peripheral vision and blindness. Medicated eye drops containing beta blockers are prescribed to reduce eye pressure and limit damage to the optic nerve. But, says Australian Professor Isaac Schweitzer of the Melbourne Clinic and the University of Melbourne’s Department of Psychiatry, the eye-saving drugs cause a rare, but real, side-effect that can go unnoticed. “Depression is often dismissed in older people as a normal reaction to aging, chronic illness or loss,” Professor Schweitzer told the Australian Associated Press. He warned that older people who suffer from depression should not be prescribed this class of drugs, and called for doctors to be aware of the link.
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