- Cosopt
- What are the major disorders for which Cosopt may be Used?
- How Cosopt works?
- Is any prescription required to get Cosopt?
- Dosage of Cosopt?
- What is the minimum duration for which Cosopt should be taken?
- Are there any side effects of Cosopt?
- Under what circumstances should Cosopt not be used?
- Under which storage conditions Cosopt should be kept?
- Major Drug (Cosopt and other Antiglaucoma) Manufacturers
- Similar drugs
- Why to buy Cosopt drug from Canada?
Cosopt consists of chemicals Dorzolamide and Timolol Maleate, and Cosopt is prescribed to patients suffering from high pressure in the eyes. This situation is generally caused due to a kind of glaucoma in the eye. Cosopt comes in the category of Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors that act as Antiglaucoma agent. Cosopt is being manufactured by Merck Sharp & Dohme, and comes in the form of colourless solution.
What are the major disorders for which Cosopt may be Used?
Cosopt is most commonly used for the treatment of high pressure that build up in the eye due to open-angle glaucoma.
A combination of Eye diseases, which slowly and steadily affects the eyes, leading to the loss of vision is called Glaucoma. This problem occurs when the nerve that helps in image formation in the eyes, gets damaged and thereby a person looses the eight sight slowly.
There are two kinds of Glaucoma as described below:
Open angle glaucoma, or primary open angle glaucoma (POAG): Being considered as the most common kind of glaucoma, it occurs when the eye's drainage canals become clogged over a period of time. There is a rise in pressure of the eyes called intraocular pressure or IOP because the appropriate quantity of eye fluid cannot come out of the eye. With open angle glaucoma, the entrances to the drainage canals are clear and should be working correctly.
Most people have no symptoms and no early warning signs. If open angle glaucoma is not diagnosed and treated, it can cause a gradual loss of vision. This type of glaucoma develops slowly and sometimes without noticeable sight loss for many years. The most common symptoms of this kind of Glaucoma include Intense eye pain, Red eyes, Swollen and/or cloudy cornea, Halos around lights, Blurry vision, Morning headaches and Pain after watching TV.
This is a problem, which cannot be rectified as such. But it can be controlled by the use of certain eye drops that helps in lowering the pressure that builds up in the eye, which may cause blindness. It usually responds well to medication like Cosopt, especially if caught early and treated.
Angle closure glaucoma: Another kind of Glaucoma is angle closure glaucoma or acute glaucoma or narrow angle glaucoma. Glaucoma of this kind is not seen in many people and is different from open angle glaucoma. In angle closure glaucoma, the iris and cornea is not as wide and open as it should be. The outer edge of the iris bunches up over the drainage canals, when the pupil enlarges too much or too quickly. This can happen when entering a dark room.
Treatment of angle closure glaucoma usually involves surgery to remove a small portion of the outer edge of the iris. Symptoms of angle closure glaucoma may include headaches, eye pain, nausea, rainbows around lights at night, and very blurred vision. To some extent it can also be cured by medicines like Cosopt.
Cosopt consists of two components dorzolamide hydrochloride and timolol maleate. These components help in reducing the IOP i.e. intra-ocular pressure by reducing aqueous humor secretion. Dorzolamide hydrochloride is a potent inhibitor of human carbonic anhydrase II. Inhibition of carbonic anhydrase in the ciliary processes of the eye decreases aqueous humor secretion, presumably by slowing the formation of bicarbonate ions with subsequent reduction in sodium and fluid transport.
Timolol maleate is a non-selective beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent. The mechanism of action of timolol maleate in lowering intra-ocular pressure is related to reduction in aqueous formation.
The combined effect of these two agents of Cosopt results in additional intra-ocular pressure reduction compared to either component administered alone. Open angle Glaucoma cannot be completely cured, however the intensity of problem can be reduced to large extent. Thus Cosopt helps in prevention of the blindness that may occur due to Glaucoma.
Is any prescription required to get Cosopt?
Since Cosopt is meant for a eyes and Cosopt may interact with some other medicines and some other body malfunctioning, hence just like other similar medicines, it is required to have a prescription of a Medical expert before one can get Cosopt. Also, one should wash the hands properly before touching the bottle of this eye solution. Cosopt may be dropped in the affected eye by pressing the cap of the bottle it is contained in. The exact usage of Cosopt may be consulted with an eye specialist.
Each millilitre of Cosopt contains 22.26 mg of dorzolamide hydrochloride corresponding to 20 mg dorzolamide and 6.83 mg of timolol maleate corresponding to 5 mg timolol. The dose is one drop of Cosopt in the affected eye(s) two times daily. Cosopt should be used no longer than 4 weeks after first opening the container. There must be atleast 10 minutes gap between the use of another topical ophthalmic agent and Cosopt.
What is the minimum duration for which Cosopt should be taken?
As per the research done on this uptill now, there is no specific time period identified for the duration of Cosopt use. This depends on whether the person suffering from open-angle glaucoma is benefited from this or not. Generally this medicine is very effective for every individual; hence Cosopt must be continued for as long as desired, as it cannot be cured completely.
Are there any side effects of Cosopt?
- Change in taste,
- Blurred vision
- Burning or stinging eyes
- Inflamed cornea
- Itching eyes
- Red eyelids
- Discharge from eye
- Dizziness
- Dryness of the eye
- Swelling in eye lids
- Headache
Note: The intensity of the above may vary from person to person.
Under what circumstances should Cosopt not be used?
If a person is taking some other drug, Cosopt should be taken with the consent of a Medical practitioner.
If a person has allergy with Cosopt/paroxetine or any other drug.
If a person is being operated, may be minor, your medical specialist should know about it.
If a person is having some other disease like Asthma, Hypertension, Diabetes, or some other problem with any body part.
Cosopt should not be with contact lens. These should be removed at least 15 minutes before Cosopt can be put in the eye.
It should not be used during pregnancy.
If a person has to drive or has to work on a machine, Cosopt may be used with precaution, because it causes blurred vision for some time.
Under which storage conditions Cosopt should be kept?
Cosopt should be stored at room temperature and the place where it is kept should not have excessive moisture and temperature. However, Cosopt should be kept in the bottle it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Also, as per the general indications for any medicine, Cosopt should also be thrown away after one month of opening the bottle.
Major Drug (Cosopt and other Antiglaucoma) Manufacturers
- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
- Alcon
- Goldshield
- Merck Sharp & Dohme
- Allergan
- Pharmacia
- Chauvin
- Novartis
- Acetazolamide (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals)
- Azopt eye drops (Alcon)
- Brinzolamide eye drops (Alcon)
- Diamox (Goldshield)
- Dorzolamide (Merck Sharp & Dohme)
- Trusopt (Merck Sharp & Dohme)
Other drugs:
- Bimatoprost eye drops (Allergan)
- Latanoprost eye drops (Pharmacia)
- Lumigan eye drops (Allergan)
- Travatan eye drops (Alcon)
- Xalacom eye drops (Pharmacia)
- Pilogel (Alcon)
- Alphagan (Allergan)
- Brimonidine Tartrate (Allergan)
- Ganda (Chauvin)
- Propine (Allergan)
- Simplene (Chauvin)
- Betagan (Allergan)
- Teoptic (Novartis)
- Cosopt
Why to buy Cosopt drug from Canada?
It is cheaper to buy Cosopt from Online Canadian Pharmacy, because Canadian government regulates the prices of Cosopt and also because of the very common reason of exchange rate. Since, the Canadian dollar is cheaper as compared to the US Dollars, so one can buy more Cosopt from Canada, thereby saving a lot of money.
