When your body uses adrenaline, can it flow to your eyes too?!
Question: When your body uses adrenaline, can it flow to your eyes too?
Answers:
In the eye, adrenaline acts on receptors (adrenoceptors) in the walls of blood vessels. This causes the blood vessels to narrow which restricts the flow of blood through the vessels. Reduced blood flow leads to a decrease in the production of the watery fluid (aqueous humour) that fills the back of the eye. Adrenaline also increases the drainage of this fluid from the eye although the mechanism is not fully understood. In addition, adrenaline causes contraction of the radial muscle of the iris (the coloured part of the eye) which leads to dilatation of the pupil.
Adrenaline is used in the treatment of glaucoma. This is a condition where the fluid drainage from the eye is impaired, resulting in fluid build-up and increased pressure in the eye.
Adrenaline is used as an eye drop so that it may act directly where it is needed and decrease the likelihood of side effects elsewhere in the body.