allergy to dilation drops?

[bunchel]

The last time that I had my eyes dilated, I experienced something like shock after the doctor put in the drops.  My vision was fuzzy, my head was ringing, I felt nauseated and like I couldn't move.  It went away after about 15 minutes and hasn't happened since (this was several years ago).  Is it possible to have an allergy to these drops that would cause symptoms like that?  (If not, I suppose I must have just been feeling faint for some other reason.)  Thanks for your help.

[am2much]

I have SEVERE allergies to BOTH of the "normal" drops listed here,  The last time I had my eyes dilated, my whole face AND neck swelled up making it  IMPOSSIBLE for me to BREATHE, my BP bottomed out, I ended up in the hospital.  NEVER let a "medical professional" tell you there is "no such thing" as an allergy to the dilating drops (I have been told that by MANY Dr.s), IRONICALLY, by the Dr. just before I ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL, even though I told him I was ALLERGIC to the drops, he put them in ANYWAY.  ANYBODY can be allergic to ANYTHING.  NOW, I probably need cataract surgery, I guess I will just have to go blind, because blind is better than DEAD.

[altheafoster]

I don't know the answer to your question but I had an exam yesterday and first time I have ever had a reaction - but it was very scary - all of a sudden I couldn't open my mouth for the extreme pain - my temperature which runs about 97 went up to 101.3 - my head was throbbing - I blamed it on the ride home as I have extreme arthritis and thought the bouncing for an hour and a half was causing the problem - I took my night time meds and went to sleep - woke in the early morning hours to being soaking wet - my fever had broke - I could open my mouth but just a little - it still hurts to open my mouth but is easing up - the headache though has not gone away yet - called the doctors office they won't be back till Monday - very concerned aren't they - today I am covered with hives so I know it is an allergic reaction but this is the first time ever had a reaction to an eye exam - am having cataract surgery next month and am concerned??? Has anyone else had their jaw freeze up like this?

[JohnHaganMD]

If you have hives I would head to the ER or your primary care physician office.  SECOND: it is critically important next week that you contact the "eye doctor" office and report what happened and have them look at your chart and determine EXACTLY what eye drops are used and what concentration.  For a routine exam the drops might include a topical anesthetic such as proparacaine,  a dilation drops 1% or 0.5 % tropicamide,  2.5% or 5% neosynephrine (almost no one uses 10% neosynephrine) any more or 1% cyclogel.   Some of these must be used for cataract surgery. You need to find out which ones were used, which is the most likely to have caused the problem and the surgical team needs to be advised.

[altheafoster]

thank you I called and they aren't there till Monday and will call me then - I will make sure they know before the surgery on 1 April.

[JohnHaganMD]

Okay, extremely important.

[Overideangel]

My son had this today, after the eye drops at the Eye place he got pale, dizzy and had ringing in his ears.. they had to have him lie on the floor and elevate his legs on a chair, he us still feeling weird about an hour later.... What causes this?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You should call the "eye place" and find out what drops were used and in the future alert whomever is going to dilate him about the problem. Two possible causes: 1 a true reaction to the eye drops.  That is unusual with the regular drops used 2.5% neosynephrine and 1% topicamine.  In young children a stronger drop 1% cyclogyl is sometimes used and it is possible to have a reaction to that. Another is what is called vaso-vagel or regular fainting. Many people, often strong healthy young men, get fainty in physicians offices. We call them 'fainters".    I suspect it was the latter. People also faint in dentists offices and when blood is being drawn in labs.

[JohnHaganMD]

Report that to the Eye MD or optom that did the exam.  Ask what drops used. Avoid next time.  Anyone reading this. If you have those symptoms call the Eye MD or optom the next day and go in for a exam.

[Lizogs]

After having dilating.eye drops I have had severe headach, unclear vision, for 9days.

[JohnHaganMD]

=

[JohnHaganMD]

=

[hhs1959lrc1992]

I am allergic to dilating drops and had to have cataract surgery.  They used the weakest drops, but had to use them 3 times.  I live 1 1/2 hours from the doctor's office and by that afternoon my head, neck, face, and eye was in severe pain.  The doctor called to check on me and I ask him if I could take benedryl and he said yes.  I took it for a couple days and everything cleared up.  When I go back for my second eye surgery, I will take my benedryl before leaving the doctor's office.  

Strange, but my sister is also allergic to the dilating drops.  I have dry eye syndrome and have my blood taken and a compounding pharmacy makes my eye drops for moisture.  What a blessing.....  Allergies are a real pain to deal with, but can be deadly.....

[podww]

Most of the comments above talk about an allergic reaction such as dizziness, nausea, fainting etc.    However I wonder if I have had an allergic reaction because the blurriness that the eye drops caused not gone away.   It is now 2 months later and my eyes are still blurred and I can't read things that I used to be able to 2 months ago e.g. emails/texts on my phone.    Has anyone heard of this kind of reaction to eyedrops used to test for diabetes?

[Luvtoski]

I am sorry that I don't have any suggestions for dizziness, as I never really felt dizzy post dilation drops.
Good luck, and perhaps someone else will post their suggestions and experiences.

[ME53]

Thank you for that advice.  I did call and get all the information and had them put this  on their records.  This is a new thing to me because we usually get the retina pictures instead of dilation.  However, now that I am dizzy, do you have any suggestions to relieve this dizziness???

[Luvtoski]

I had many Retina sp./ eye dr. visits the past 2 years and I finally "took control" and asked that my eyes NOT be dilated each visit unless absolutely necessary.

I told them I wanted to minimize the amount of chemicals that were put in my eyes and it didn't matter to me how the techs made it sound like these chemicals were basically like water and had no effects.  Sorry, but I wasn't buying that.  Chemicals are chemicals.

Anyways, found out that in my case the dilation was not necessary each visit so they agreed to either do an exam without the drops, or to use the mildest drops they had.  (see Dr. Hagans drop suggestions above)

I also had the eye pressure test with a tonopen done without the numbing drop and didn't feel a thing....so one less chemical in my eyes.

My advice is to ask BEFORE the tech puts the eye drops in...slow things down (as they grab them so fast you cannot even see the bottles). Have them tell you first exactly what drops and what concentrations they are using on you and write them down for your records !  If they say they use a higher concentration than what the MINIMUM Dr. Hagan mentioned, challenge them and ask if the higher concentration is necessary.  I found that in every case the lower concentration was acceptable for them to use on me and worked everytime.  They sometimes get used to using a higher concentration as the "norm" just to simplify their process, but not always in the patients best interest.
Finally, YOU AS THE PATIENT, HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW THE CHEMICALS THEY ARE USING IN YOUR EYES.  Shame on the offices that won't give you that information---don't give up.  

[linaluz]

I agree completely with this, and I had been more insistent when they gave me drops a few days ago.  I had asked what they were, and the side effects were, but the technician refused to tell me and said the only side effect would light sensitivity for a few days.  But not in my case - I had heart palpitations that night, and woke up in the morning with pain and stiffness all down my legs, and inflamed achilles tendon, and tingling throughout my body, as well as a headache and extremely sensitive eyes.  Four days later and the effects have not changed much.  I´m seeing my GP today and will ask her to contact the eye doctor.

[ME53]

I went in for an eye exam and they gave me 4-5 drops in each eye (some have said that was too many) and that evening I became extremely tired in a strange way and when I got up I was dizzy.  I have been dizzy ever since and that was over 1 week ago.  What should I do?

[JC_E]

Your not alone! Had my eyes examined yesterday. Dizziness set in by evening. Slept like I had been shot. By morning the whole room was spinning. The same thing happened last year, but I did not make the connection until it happened again this year. Weeks passed b4 the dizziness did. By then I had seen an MD who ordered tests to rule out more serious issues. Nothing registered. Guess I will be telling my opthmologist next year. BTW, I have blue eyes, am extremely sensitive to most all forms of meds, including OTCs, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, and experience highly adverse reactions to epinephrine. Maybe there is a connection there too.

[ME53]

I went in for an eye exam and they gave me 4-5 drops in each eye (some have said that was too many) and that evening I became extremely tired in a strange way and when I got up I was dizzy.  I have been dizzy ever since and that was over 1 week ago.  What should I do?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

There are only three drops used to routinely dilate eyes for exams:

1. Neosynephrine 2.5% and  10%   ONLY 2.5% SHOULD BE USED
2. tropicamide 0.5% or 1%
3. cyclogyl 0.5 or 1 or 2%

The most likely to cause problems is the cyclogyl    find out what drops are used and in future visits use a different drop or a weaker concentration.

JCH MD

[MsKimba]

I've had this happen too. I pass out and vomit every time my eyes get dilated. The doctor told me that they have another patient with the same issue. They didn't say it was an allergic reaction but something that had to do with the main nerve in my eye that reacted to the drops, like something wrong with it. Few people have this issue. This was a long time ago and iforget what they said it is called

[MsKimba]

I've had this happen too. I pass out and vomit every time my eyes get dilated. The doctor told me that they have another patient with the same issue. They didn't say it was an allergic reaction but something that had to do with the main nerve in my eye that reacted to the drops, like something wrong with it. Few people have this issue. This was a long time ago and iforget what they said it is called

[hwcrandall]

Today I went to the eye doctor & she dilated my eyes. I've had this once 6 or 7 years ago without a reaction. This time I immediately felt clammy, nauseous, then everything started to fade out. I was pretty sure I was about to pass out so I laid down on the floor of the office. When I got down there, I could no longer hear anything but myself speak. I'm guessing this isn't normal... what do you think?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

epinephrine is the same thing (for the purposes of dilating the eye) as neosynephrine. Usually 2.5% is well tolerated. Rarely is 10% used anymore.

JCH MD

[Dan7184]

I had a similar reaction, and, in fact, I passed out. Next time I went to a different eye doctor and she suggested I may have an allergy to epinephrine. Actually, I later found out my mother has an allergy to epinephrine. The doctor was able to take pictures of my eyes which are apparently a decent alternative to dilation.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Same answer. Next time you have your eyes checked ask for a milder eyedrop.

JCH MD

[RyanFisk]

I also had a reaction to eye dilating drops and wondered what was in them that caused this.  I got very light headed and my hands tensed up and froze up in the open position, also I got very pale in complexion for about 10 minutes.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

-

[bunchel]

Thanks so much; I've never been able to get an answer to this question, despite having asked several doctors!  I appreciate your help.