Reduced cyclic myopia with pilocarpine gel.

Pilocarpine 4% gel and pilocarpine 4% solution were compared in young normal subjects for their effects on induced myopia. The pilocarpine 4% solution produced marked myopia lasting one to two hours which indicates that a qid therapeutic regimen produces about three to six hours of blurred vision during waking hours. The gel-induced myopic effects returned to normal in most subjects nine hours after a single instillation. Thus, pilocarpine-gel-induced myopic effects occur principally while asleep and are reduced substantially upon awakening. This allows patients to carry on normal activities throughout the day.