BMJ 1994;309:343 (30 July)

Letters

Glaucoma induced by steroids

EDITOR, - Jeremy M Butcher and colleagues have warned about the long term use of steroid eye drops. The long term use of topical facial steroids also has risks.

In a series of five young patients (under the age of 30) reported recently, three had irreversible glaucomatous damage2 after two to 12 years' use of topical facial steroids for severe eczema. Two also had posterior subcapsular cataract. The current British National Formulary does not carry any warnings on this, except in the "Over-the-counter sales" section where it states that topical steroids should be applied "sparingly over small area ... for a maximum of 1 week."3

It is well known that topical facial steroids are useful in patients with eczema, and long term use is inevitable in some cases. Glaucoma screening might be important in this relatively small group of patients. The test is simple and can be carried out as . . . [Full text of this article]


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