Do eye drops make your blood pressure go up?

It depends: It depends on which eye drops are being used. Certain eye drops, like phenylephrine (a common eye drop used to dilate the pupil for eye exams) can make your blood pressure go up. It is an Alpha agonist and can stimulate your blood vessels to constrict --> raising your blood pressure. Other drops, such as timolol, a common glaucoma agent, could potentially make your blood pressure go down.

Certain ones can: Phenylephrine dilating drop, especially 10%, can elevate blood pressure and should be used cautiously when the blood pressure is already high. Systemic absorption of drops can be reduced by closing off the tear duct immediately after instillation of the drop.