Intraocular Pressure During Short-Term Topical or Systemic Corticosteroid Treatment: Analysis of 3 Randomized Clinical Trials.

Researchers analyzed three randomized clinical trials, in which participants were assigned by chance to receive a corticosteroid, a medicine that reduces swelling, or a comparison treatment. Some used steroids applied to the body or eyes, while others took them systemically, meaning throughout the body. The researchers measured intraocular pressure, the pressure inside the eye, before and after treatment. Short treatment periods did not cause a meaningful rise in eye pressure in these trials. The study did not assess long-term steroid use or everyone at higher risk of glaucoma, an eye disease caused by damage to the optic nerve.

What this means for you: This provides some reassurance that brief steroid treatment is unlikely to raise eye pressure substantially in similar people. It does not prove that longer use is safe, especially for people with glaucoma or other eye-pressure problems, so this is not a reason to use steroids without medical guidance.