An increase of pressure in the eye leads to a situation called ocular hypertension. Travatan is an eye drop. It is a clear and colourless solution. In patients with mild to severe renal impairments and mild to severe hepatic impairments, Travatan has been carefully studied. There is no dosage adjustments necessary for these patients.

Its dose is merely one drop in the affected eye(s) once daily. If the dose is administered in the evening, optimal effect will be achieved. This dose is also recommended for adults. The use of travatan more than once a day is highly discouraged. This is because using travatan more often will end up reducing the effectiveness of the medication. The medication can be affected by a person’s medical condition and body weight. To use the eye drops just like any other medication, good hygienic practices must be respected.

-         Clean your hands and open the cap of the medicine;

 -         Place the cap on a clean surface to avoid contamination;

 -       With the head slightly tilted back, use your index finger to keep the eye open;                                                                                  

 -          After application of a drop, keep your eyes closed for some seconds.

If you have another eye drop, make sure you give a time lapse of 5 minutes before applying it. It is highly important to use this medication just as prescribed by your doctor. If you found yourself in a situation where the drug cannot be applied or in case you forgot to administer it simply continue with your regular dose schedule. The quantity of of travatan should not be increase in order to compensate for a missed dose.

Report all signs of eye infection that is redness, pain and irritation to your doctor. This medication should be stored at room temperature and kept from the reach of children. Hospital wastes with drugs inclusive are considered as hazardous wastes. As such they should not be disposed of haphazardly. Strict waste disposal procedures for such wastes should be strictly respected.

Who should use Travatan

Travatan is usually prescribed for patients with increased eye pressure between the ages of 2 months to 18 years. However, up to date data for 2 months to 3 years is quite limited. The efficacy and safety of travatan in little children aged from 2 months and below have not yet been established.

Never use this medication if you are;

• Pregnant or having plans of becoming pregnant and
• Allergic to Travatan or any of its ingredients.

Persons allergic to Travopost are also allergic to Travatan. If you are one of those with allergies, keep your doctor informed. Also let the doctor know if you have an infection or swelling in your eye. Travatan is FDA pregnancy category C and it is not known if it is harmful to an unborn baby. In addition, it is not known if travatan passes in to breast milk or if it could probably harm the unborn baby. Research has not been conducted to confirm this.

The use of some eye drops results in temporary blurred vision that affects the ability to use machines or drive. Travatan has very limited or no effect on vision. For this reason, patients are recommended to wait until vision clears before they take on driving or the use of any machine. However, this won’t take long.

Travatan uses (Uses of Travatan)

Over the years, Travatan has proven to greatly reduce this pressure thus ameliorating the patient’s sight. Travatan is also used to treat open-angle glaucoma in patients who do not respond positively to other medicines.

Travatan is a topical medication. It is a prostaglandin analog that works to decrease pressure in the eye. It does this by increasing the amount of fluid that drains from the eye.

Uses of Travatan are aimed at reducing elevated intraocular heaviness in people with sight difficulties. Worth noting is that lowering high pressure in the eye can avoid complete loss of sight. Travatan ensures a proper pressure is maintained in the eye through fluid regulation.

The Optic nerve at the back of your eye can be damaged by an increase in pressure within the eye. This will lead to a situation called Glaucoma. If Glaucoma is not treated immediately, it can lead to a loss of vision. Ocular hypertension is a situation whereby you have an increased pressure within your eye without any damage of the optic nerve. Those with ocular hypertension run a risk of later developing glaucoma. The Travoprost eye drop works by reducing eye pressure in all people having ocular hypertension. It also helps to prevent further damage in people with open-angle glaucoma.

At times, more than one eye drop is needed to keep the eye’s pressure low and normal. You may be given drops that combine more than one type or different eye drops. If this is the case for you. Travoprost is accessible as a mixture eye drop with another medicine that helps reduce eye pressure bringing it back to normal. It is called Timolo which is a beta-blocker.

Other uses of Travatan exist for which the medication can be prescribed by your doctor. Contact your doctor or pharmacist for more information. You are recommended to always use this medicine in strict respect of your doctor’s prescription. If you are not sure or in doubts, make sure you check with your doctor. To initiate use, the patient should remove the protective overlap directly prior to initial use. It can be used for purposes other than those listed herein. But in either of these cases, recommendation must be made by your doctor.

Effectiveness of Travatan

This medication comes in the form of an eye drop which is quite effective. Regular Travatan is no longer available. Nevertheless, Travatan Z which comes with a different preservative is still sold. It works well just as Regular Travatan..

Travoprost is a prostaglandin analogue. It is a highly discerning full agonist that possesses a highly affinity for the prostaglandin FP receptor. It effectively functions by reducing the intraocular pressure. It does this by increasing the outflow of aqueous humour through uveoscleral and meshwork pathways. Effectiveness in reducing the intraocular pressure in man starts 2 hours after administration. Maximum effectiveness is achieved 12 hours after administration. For periods exceeding 24 hours, significant lowering of intraocular pressure can easily be maintained with just a single dose. Patients with an open-angle glaucoma in a clinical trial who were catered for and treated with travatan demonstrated 8 to 9 mmHg reductions from their previous intraocular pressures of 24 to 26mmHg. This openly shows the effectiveness of travatan in treating intraocular glaucoma.

Half-life of Travatan

Travoprost being an ester prodrug, is easily absorbed through the cornea. Once absorbed, the isopropyl ester is immediately hydrolysed to the active free acid. Laboratory studies shows in one to two hours a peak concentration of 20 ng/mL of this free acid in aqueous humour. This results were obtained in a topical dosing of Travatan in rabbits. It was observed that the aqueous humour gradually declined with a half-life of about 1.5 hours. Healthy volunteers were administered topical ocular travatan, between 10 to 30 minutes post-dose, peak active free acid plasma concentrations of 25 pg/mL or less were openly observed. Just after this, plasma levels declined rapidly falling below 10 pg/mL. Due to the rapid eliminations and low concentrations that followed the topical dosing, the half-life of active free acid in man could not possibly be determined by experts. However, metabolism is the chief route of elimination of both the active free acid and travoprost. The travoprost metabolites and its free acids are chiefly excreted by the kidneys.

Travatan side effects (Effects of travatan)

A lot of medications cause side effects which are unwanted responses to a medication when taken in normal dose. However travatan side effects also exist. Travatan side effects can be temporary or permanent, mild or severe. But not all the travatan side effects listed below affect all who take this medication. It is important you discuss with your doctor the importance and risks of travatan side effects before taking the medication. The following travatan side effects have been reported by at least 1% of people taking this medication in the world.

• Dry eyes;
• Eye itchiness;
• Stringing in the eyes with application;
• Increased tears;
• Change in colour to the iris or eyelashes;
• Redness of the eye;
• Postnasal drip;
• Runny nose;
• Feeling of something in the eye;
• Thickening of eyelashes;
• Temporary blurred vision; and
• Throat irritation.

A lot of this travatan side effects can be managed whereas others will go away on their own. Your pharmacist would be capable of explaining to you how to manage the above travatan side effects. Nevertheless, you should immediately contact your doctor if any of the travatan side effects border you.

The following travatan side effects don’t happen very often but can lead to serious eye damages if you do not call medical attention on time.

Severe side effects;

• Eye pain;
• Eye injury;
• Eye or eyelid infection;
• Vision changes; and
• Swelling of the eye.

If any of the following travatan side effects occur, immediately stop taking medication and seek medical assistance;

• Difficulty breathing;
• Abdominal cramp;
• Swelling of the face and throat; and
• Vomiting and nausea.

Other people can experience symptoms not listed, but always discuss with your doctor if you notice any strange symptoms while taking the medication.

A gradual change in the colour of your eyelid or eyes and lashes can be initiated by travatan. Travatan can as well increase thickness of your eye leashes. This colour changes are usually very slow that you hardly notice them for months say years and this usually increase in brown pigment. The colour changes will occur only on the eye being treated and would likely remain even after you complete your treatment. This would probably lead to a cosmetic difference in eye or eyelash colour. When administering this medication, never allow the travatan dropper touch any surface including hands or eyes. This is because the dropper can cause an infection in your eye if it becomes contaminated. This can lead to serious damage to the eye or even vision loss. After using travatan, make sure you wait for up to 5 minutes before using any other eye drops prescribed by your doctor.

Precautions in order to get the best out of Travatan

• Before you ever start administering the medicine, make sure you have carefully read and understand all the manufacturer’s printed information leaflet present in the packet. If you doubt anything in it, make sure you get assistance from your doctor.
• If any eye drop solution runs down to your face, wipe it away as soon as possible with a clean tissue.
• Always remember to use the drop daily and never make up for a missed dose.
• Note that upon first administration of the drug, your vision can be blurred. However, this should quickly clear. Before carrying on with your normal activities, make sure you can see clearly.
• Always keep your regular appointments with your doctor.
• Never wear soft contact glasses unless recommended by your doctor.    

The following are more Travatan precautions to pay serious attention to;

Contact lenses: If you are using eye lenses, always remove them before using the eye drop. After using it, always wait for at least 15 minutes before reinserting your eye lenses.

Eye changes: This medication can gradually increase the amount of pigment in the iris which changes the colour of the eye. Up to date, the long term effects of this colour change to the eye are not known. This change occurs very slowly. This medication can also cause darkening and lengthening of the eye lashes. Always talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Eye conditions: If you are experiencing certain eye conditions, make sure you talk to your doctor and find out how your dosing can affect your medical condition. Ask the doctor if a special monitoring is required.

Pregnancy: travatan is not recommended during pregnancy. If you happen to become pregnant while taking this medicine, immediately call your doctor’s attention.

Children: Up to date, the effectiveness and safety of the uses of travatan  for children has not yet been established.

Always avoid using more than recommended travatan. An overdose can make the medication less effective. It will therefore not lower the pressure in the eye as it was originally intended to. Never use any eye drop in addition with or without travatan that has not been prescribed by your doctor.

Over dosage of this medication should be avoided by all patients. This is because it can lead to severe Travatan side effects and in serious cases it can initiate death. This is why patients should stick to their doctor’s recommendation. However, you should always seek your doctor’s immediate medical attention if you feel you have taken too much travatan than recommended. However, an overdose of travatan in the eye is not expected to bring forth life-threatening symptoms.

There are other drugs than can affect the effectiveness of Travatan. This include herbal products, minerals, and vitamins, together with other drugs. Never start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Unless adequate contraceptive measures are put in place, travatan must not be used in women of child bearing age/potential.

Unless rearly necessary Travatan should not be used during pregnancy. This is because Travoprost has harmful pharmacological effects on pregnancy, foetus, and new born baby.

Up to date, it is still unknown if Travoprost from the eye drop ends up in breast milk. However, animal studies have indicated the presence of Travoprost in breast milk. For this reason, the use of Travoprost by a breast feeding mother is not recommended.

Up to date there exist no data on the effects of Travatan on human fertility. However, laboratory studies on animals showed no effect of Travoprost on their fertility. This remained true even when they received doses which are 250 times more than that of humans.

The shelf life of Travatan is 2 years. It is highly recommended to discard 4 weeks after opening. Do not stop using Travatan without first seeking the knowledge of your doctor. If this is done, weather on you or your child, the risk of losing sight is increased. In doubt, always get back to your doctor or pharmacist for clarifications.

If your child or you happen to receive more drops of Travatan than that required or prescribed by your doctor, immediately rinse all the medicine out with warm water. When this is done, do not put in any more drops until it is time for the next scheduled regular dose.

You are recommended to use only one bottle at a time. You should never open the pouch until you need and is ready to use the bottle.

Travatan Z user reviews

In travatan reviews, positive as well as negative patient remarks are made. After using Travatan for five months as explained by a patient, my eye pressure and IOP decreased significantly. My eye lashes have grown and gained thickness.

Although the patient expresses a positive remark, dissatisfaction was made regarding the high cost of the medication. During the course of administration the same patient did not experienced serious Travatan side effects.

Since drugs cannot react the same for everyone, another patient experienced reddish and swollen eyes just after two days of drug administration. Others had blurred vision with painful eyes. The intense pain in the eyes led to headache.

Another patient attests positively about Travatan in travatan reviews saying that this medicine brings immediate eye pressure decrease but he finds it difficult administering.

Still in Travatan reviews, another patient says ‘’ this drug did not cause the pains and swelling experienced with another drug. But use of the drug for a period of two weeks, led to insomnia, anxiety, chest pain and extremely high pressures every thirty minutes after using the drop.’

Another patient wrote negatively about uses of travatan saying ‘’ the first time I ever used the Travatan Z, the next day I wake up with very dry and bloodshot eyes. I gave it another chance just to have my eyes swollen shut, burning and experiencing a terribly headache.

Another patient says ‘’ I have been using this drug only for 3 months but it has caused a yellow discoloration in the whites of my eyes and serious eye irritation. ‘’

Using the medication for six months, I truly find it effective in lowering eye pressure. The only side effect I experienced was the red eyelids colouration.’’

Another patient wrote positively saying ‘’ I am very satisfied with Travatan’s ability to lower eye pressure. I find all uses of travatan good apart from that I feel a little uncomfortable using it”.