An Introduction to Travatan Side Effects
As with any medicine, side effects are possible with
Travatan® (
travoprost ophthalmic solution). However, not everyone who takes the medication will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If Travatan side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can easily be treated by you or your healthcare provider.
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Travatan. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of Travatan side effects with you.)
Common Side Effects of Travatan
Travatan has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials. In these studies, the side effects that occur in a group of people taking the drug are documented and are then compared to side effects that occur in another group of people not taking the medicine (or taking a different medicine). This way, it is possible to see what side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine.
In these clinical studies, the most common side effect of Travatan was eye redness, which occurred in 35 to 50 percent of people. Other common side effects (which occurred in 5 to 10 percent of people) included:
- Less clear or sharp vision
- Eye discomfort or pain
- Feeling like something is stuck in the eye
- Eye itching.
Slightly less common Travatan side effects (occurring in 1 to 4 percent of people) included:
- Vision changes
- Inflammation of the eyelids
- Blurred vision
- Cataracts
- Conjunctivitis ("pink eye")
- Dry eyes
- Crusting of the eyelids
- Eye sensitivity to light
- Darkening of the iris (the colored part of the eye) to a brown color
- Inflammation of the cornea of the eye (keratitis).
In addition to causing a darkening of eye color (which is usually permanent, even if the medication is stopped), Travatan can cause darkening of the eyelids and darkening and increased growth of the eyelashes. The eyelid and eyelash changes often get better after the medication is stopped.
Some side effects unrelated to the eyes were reported in 1 to 5 percent of people. These side effects of Travatan included:
