Question

What does gentamicin do to the eyes?

Answer 1

What gentamicin does to the eyes is kill bacteria by stopping the bacteria from producing essential proteins.

The antibiotic aminoglycoside is used to treat bacterial eye infections like pink eye or conjunctivitis and also prevent eye infection after surgery or injury.

Gentamicin acts as an antibiotic, and specifically targets bacterial protein synthesis, although gentamicin does not work on viral or fungal infections.

Common side effects of gentamicin are temporary burning, itching, stinging, redness or blurred vision, immediately after the application of gentamicin.

Gentamicin can also cause eye sensitivity to light.

And overuse of gentamicin can lead to decreased effectiveness and it's also important that you complete the full course of gentamicin even if your symptoms improve.

When using gentamicin, don't touch the dropper to your eye or any surface to avoid contamination.

If you wear contact lenses, you should also consult with your eye doctor on when you can use the contact lenses again.

If you experience any persistent, severe irritation or an allergic reaction when using gentamicin you should contact a doctor or eye doctor immediately.

Before applying the gentamicin, wash your hands and tilt your head back and pull down the lower eyelid to create a pouch and instill the drop of gentamicin without touching the dropper tip to the eye.

Gentamicin eye drops are often applied 1 to 2 drops at a time per every 4 hours or up to 2 drops per hour for severe eye infections.

You should continue using gentamicin for 48 hours after your eye appears normal, to ensure that all of the bacteria are eliminated.

Gentamicin should be stored at room temperature of 36 F to 77 F and avoid excessive heat.

However you should not use gentamicin if you have any known hypersensitivity to gentamicin or other  aminoglycoside antibiotics.