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The symptom flyers are not a substitute for consultation with your treatment team. If you are unsure or have any questions, please contact your treatment team. 

Eye problems

Good to know

Some cancer treatments can cause eye problems, such as:

  • Eyes that are dry, red, or itchy
  • Eyelids that are crusty and swollen
  • Pain in the eyes
  • Difficulty seeing clearly

Eye problems are more common with certain cancer medications. You should have your eyes checked before and during treatment, especially if you already have an eye condition or other eye problems.

Ask your treatment team if you should use eye drops to prevent these issues.

Do not use any medication that has not been prescribed or recommended by your ophthalmologist or treatment team.

If the cancer drugs that caused the eye problems are stopped, your eyes will usually get better. This sometimes takes a long time.

Ask your treatment team if you need to use eye drops to prevent these problems.

Do not use any medications that have not been recommended or prescribed by your ophthalmologist or treatment team.

When you stop taking the cancer medications that cause these eye problems, your eyes usually recover. This may take some time.

You feel...
Or you notice...
What you can do for yourself...
You feel...
Or you notice...
  • You didn’t have any known eye problems before your treatment
What you can do for yourself...
  • Follow your doctor’s instructions and use the eye drops or ointments they have given you.
  • Don’t wear contact lenses while you are having treatment.
  • Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.
  • Don’t touch or rub your eyes.
  • Try not to spend too much time on your phone, tablet or computer and take regular breaks.
You feel...
Or you notice...
  • Eyes that are slightly dry, red or watery
  • Eyelids that are slightly crusty or mildly swollen
What you can do for yourself...
  • Let your treatment team know if you have any symptoms. You might need to get treatment for your eyes or a treatment dose reduction for a while.
  • If you have dry and red eyes, you can use artificial tears without preservatives at least 4 times a day in both eyes, or as needed, as long as your treatment teams says it’s okay (see brochure ‘How to use eye drops properly’).
  • If your eyelids are watery, crusty, or swollen, try putting a warm compress or a washcloth soaked in warm water on them.
You feel...
Or you notice...
  • Your eye symptoms get worse
  • Your eyes are red, watery, crusty, itchy, or swollen
  • Sensitivity to light or pain
  • The feeling of something in your eye
  • Problems seeing things clearly, e.g., things looking blurry or double, spots, floaters, halos, or changes to how colours look
  • Really bad headaches
What you can do for yourself...
  • Contact your treatment team right away.
  • Follow their advice — you might need an emergency appointment with an eye doctor.

Tips

Visiting an eye doctor (ophthalmologist)

If you don’t have an ophthalmologist yet, the treatment team can help you find one.

Make an appointment early, as you may have to wait a long time for your appointment.

How to use eye drops

You can also look at the leaflet “How to use eye drops properly” for help.

  1. Wash your hands thoroughly
  2. Open the bottle of eye drops
  3. Get in front of a mirror
  4. Use one hand to gently pull down your lower eyelid to expose the lower part of the eye
  5. Put your head back and look up
  6. Hold the bottle so that the bottle is above your eye, but does not touch it
  7. Squeeze the bottle gently to get one drop out
  8. Wait two seconds before closing your eye; then keep it closed for one minute
  9. Wash your hands one more time

The leaflets ‘Eye problems’ and ‘How to use eye drops properly’ were developed with the support of AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo.

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