Plaquenil

Do you take Plaquenil for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Plaquenil Side-Effects

What is Plaquenil and how does it affect your eyes?

Plaquenil (Hydroxychloroquine) is a medication that is used often to treat conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus Sarcoidosis, and additional autoimmune disorders. Plaquenil has been known to cause retinopathy or damage to the retina. If you take Plaquenil and have had any changes in your vision, its important to notify your ophthalmologist or optometrist as soon as possible.

If you take this medication, it is important to have annual eye exams by your ophthalmologist, so he/she can monitor changes within your eye. At San Antonio Eye Specialists, we monitor Plaquenil patients by testing visual acuity, color vision, central visual field testing, distortion test and a thorough retina exam. If signs of retinopathy are detected, the drug is stopped and vision typically returns to normal. In some cases, vision is permanently affected.

If you are on this medication, please call San Antonio Eye Specialists and schedule an eye exam with our doctors for the potential side effects of Plaquenil.