An Introduction to Patanol Side Effects
Just like any medicine,
Patanol® (
olopatadine ophthalmic solution) can cause side effects. However, not everyone who takes the medication will have problems. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or are easily treated by you or your healthcare provider.
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Patanol. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of Patanol side effects with you.)
Possible Side Effects of Patanol
Patanol has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials, in which the side effects of a group of people taking the drug were documented and then compared to another group taking a placebo eyedrop that did not contain any active ingredient.
As a result, it was possible to see what side effects occurred, how often they appeared, and how they compared to the group taking the placebo.
In these studies, the most common side effect of Patanol was
headaches, which occurred in up to 7 percent of people using the medication. Other reported side effects (occurring in less than 5 percent of people) included:
- A feeling of weakness
- Blurred vision
- Burning or stinging
- Symptoms of the common cold
- Dry eyes
- A foreign body sensation (feeling like something is stuck in the eye)
- Red eyes
- Eyelid swelling
- Nausea
- Sore throat
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Sinus infections or irritations
- Changes in taste.
It should be noted that many of these side effects are also symptoms of eye
allergies, and it is possible that they are not really side effects of Patanol at all.
