dialation of the eyes

[Barbarella]

Dear Dr. Hagan,

The eyedrops to dialate the pupils will they go into your bloodstream?  I had one eye doctor tell me no, another one said yes.  I cannot have epinephrine at the dentist due to severe reactions as in a racing heart, PVC's, and a rise in BP.  My question:  Do these drops have enough in it to maybe cause for me to have the same reaction?  So far I always got eye drops without epinephrine/or something equal to epinephrine, but this last eye doctor did not want to use any drops at all.  He examined my eyes without dialating them.

Thank you very much

[Barbarella]

Thank you very much for the information I very much appreciate it.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

Yes, the drops can make it into bloodstream and affect some people.  I, personally would just play it safe and not give the phenyleprine drops to you.  It is much, much weaker than epineprhine and you would get a much, much lower dose of it than dental injection with epinephrine. Even so, I would just play it safe for regular exams and just get tropicamide which should not affect blood pressure or pulse.

MJK MD