This continuing professional development feature is not intended to be an in-depth educational approach to pharmacology or to cover every medication available in the UK. Rather it will discuss the most common medications your patients may be using, the reason they have been prescribed, general methods of action and indications/contra-indications.
Topical therapy to resist bacterial eye infections has a long history.
The use of kohl as a cosmetic eyeliner by the ancient Egyptians had a beneficial side-effect: the lead ions in the lead sulphide that ancient kohl was made up of stimulated skin cells to release nitric oxide gas. In turn, the molecules in the gas acted as messengers to bacteria-eating macrophage cells, increasing the diameter of capillaries aiding a rapid immune response. It could be said that ancient kohl was the world’s first antibiotic ointment.