Bimatoprost

Bimatoprost, sold under the trade name Lumigan among others, is a medication used to treat high pressure inside the eye including glaucoma. Specifically it is used for open angle glaucoma when other agents are not sufficient. It may also be used to increase the size of the eyelashes. It is used as an eye drop. Effects generally occur within 4 hours. Bimatoprost, sold under the trade name Lumigan among others, is a medication used to treat high pressure inside the eye including glaucoma. Specifically it is used for open angle glaucoma when other agents are not sufficient. It may also be used to increase the size of the eyelashes. It is used as an eye drop. Effects generally occur within 4 hours. Common side effects include red eyes, dry eyes, change in color of the eyes, blurry vision, and cataracts. Use during pregnancy or breastfeeding is generally not recommended. It is a prostaglandin analog and works by increasing the outflow of aqueous fluid from the eyes. Bimatoprost was approved for medical use in the United States in 2001. It is available as a generic medication. A 3 milliliter bottle in the United Kingdom costs the NHS about 9.30 £ as of 2019. In the United States the wholesale cost of this amount is about US$80. In 2016, it was the 254th most prescribed medication in the United States with more than a million prescriptions. Bimatoprost is used for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension in adult patients, either alone or in combination with a beta blocker (typically timolol). Studies have shown bimatoprost to be more effective than timolol in reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) and as least as effective as the prostaglandin analogs latanoprost and travoprost in reducing IOP. Bimatoprost may be used to treat small or underdeveloped eyelashes. The medical term for this is treatment of hypotrichosis; however, the FDA approval is for purely cosmetic purposes (see Prostaglandin F receptor#Clinical Significance). Side effects are similar to other prostaglandin analogs applied to the eye. The most common one is conjunctival hyperemia, which occurs in more than 10% of patients. Other effects include blurred vision, eye and eyelid redness, eye burning or other discomfort, and permanent darkening of the iris to brown. Occasional adverse effects (in less than 1% of patients) are headache and nausea. Some side effects are specific to the cosmetic formulation, which is applied to the skin at the base of the eyelash rather than instilled into the eye. These include infection if the one-time applicators are reused, and darkening of the eyelid or of the area beneath the eye. Research suggests that wiping the eye with an absorbent pad after the administration of eye drops can result in shorter eyelashes and a lesser chance of hyperpigmentation in the eyelid, compared to not wiping off excess fluid. No interaction studies with this substance have been performed. Interactions with systemic (for example, oral) drugs are considered unlikely because bimatoprost does not reach relevant concentrations in the bloodstream. Bimatoprost does not negatively interact with timolol eye drops.