The following post is archived from the ROP list, which was moderated by Dr. Scott Richards until August, 2002. The list has closed now. For more information about lists of interest to people with visual impairments, please visit the email list index.
Date: January 11, 1999
From: Scott Richards
"What is atropine for after a surgery? I have all these different drops, and I'm trying to learn what they all do."
Atropine dilates the pupil, but it also paralyzes the ciliary muscle. This provides pain relief, since much of the pain after an eye surgery is caused by spasm of that muscle.