Can Viagra be taken safely with glaucoma? Usually, yes: glaucoma is not one of the conditions the Viagra or Cialis labels rule out. The eye conditions that do rule sildenafil out are past vision loss from NAION and inherited retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. In a small trial in men with open-angle glaucoma, a 100 mg dose did not change eye pressure, although raised eye pressure appears among the rare events reported with these medicines. Tell your eye specialist or optometrist that you take it, and stop and get help at once if your vision changes suddenly.

Does Viagra raise eye pressure?

Not in the trial that tested it in glaucoma. Fifteen patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma took a single 100 mg dose of sildenafil and, on another day, a placebo; over the next 1 to 5 hours there was "no statistically or clinically significant change" in eye pressure, and no significant change in blood pressure or heart rate (Grunwald et al., 2001). The wider evidence is mixed but mostly reassuring. One review notes that studies "show variable results", mostly small, with case reports of glaucoma and one US survey linking long-term sildenafil use to self-reported glaucoma (Baker et al., 2019); a 2026 review finds "no clinically meaningful or sustained effect" on eye pressure in most studies, including in people with open-angle glaucoma (Elhusseiny and Swaminathan, 2026). In a study of tadalafil's effects on vision, no effect on eye pressure was seen (Cialis PI (Australia)).

What do the labels say about the eyes?

They rule out two eye conditions and list glaucoma only as a rare reported event. Sildenafil must not be used after loss of vision in one eye from NAION, or with inherited retinal disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa (EMA — Viagra; Viagra CMI). NAION causes sudden vision loss in one or both eyes, which "may be partial, temporary or permanent" (Cialis CMI). The European Viagra label lists glaucoma among its rare eye reactions (EMA — Viagra); the Australian product information lists "increased intraocular pressure" among events reported after marketing "in temporal association" with Viagra (seen around the time of use, not shown to be caused by it) (Viagra PI (Australia)); and the European Levitra leaflet lists "Increased pressure in the eye (glaucoma)" as rare, in up to 1 in 1,000 users (EMA — Levitra). Vision problems in general: can ED drugs cause vision problems?

Is angle-closure glaucoma different?

It is the emergency form. healthdirect's advice: with sudden eye pain and redness, blurred or worsening vision, or halos around lights, go to the nearest emergency department or call triple zero (000) (healthdirect — Glaucoma). Glaucoma Australia's list of medicines that can raise eye pressure or trigger angle closure, from steroids to topiramate, does not include sildenafil or other ED medicines (Glaucoma Australia). On Viagra, sudden vision problems, including seeing a halo around lights, mean stopping it and getting medical attention urgently (Viagra CMI).

Can you use glaucoma eye drops with Viagra?

No glaucoma drop leaflet we read names an ED medicine. Drops reach the rest of the body too: they "may be absorbed systemically", and timolol, an ingredient of some glaucoma drops, is a beta-blocker whose label warns of extra blood-pressure lowering or a slow pulse with beta-blocker tablets, calcium channel blockers or heart-rhythm medicines — not with ED medicines (Ganfort PI). The same product's leaflet lists "medicines used to expand blood vessels (vasodilator drugs)" among those it may strengthen (Ganfort CMI); sildenafil is not named, though its label describes "vasodilator properties" (EMA — Viagra). As tablets, beta-blockers did not change sildenafil levels: can you take Viagra with a beta-blocker? Pressing on the inside corner of the eye for about two minutes after a drop helps stop it draining to the nose and throat, "from where it can be absorbed into other parts of your body" (Ganfort CMI). The bimatoprost leaflet's interaction list names only drops of the same class, such as latanoprost (Lumigan CMI).

What if you also take blood-pressure medicines?

Then those are the combination to check. healthdirect lists both high and low blood pressure among the risk factors for glaucoma (healthdirect — Glaucoma). Sildenafil is not for men with low blood pressure (hypotension) below 90/50 mmHg (EMA — Viagra), and the Viagra leaflet names alpha blockers, used for blood pressure or prostate problems, among the medicines that interact with it (Viagra CMI).

The short answer

Glaucoma on its own is not on the labels' list of reasons to avoid Viagra, and the trial in open-angle glaucoma found no change in eye pressure. NAION and retinitis pigmentosa do rule it out. One review recommends an eye check before starting and follow-up afterwards, especially with long-acting tadalafil or glaucoma risk factors (Baker et al., 2019), so tell your optometrist or eye specialist, and treat any sudden change in vision as urgent. Every other combination is covered in our guide to taking Viagra or Cialis with other medicines.