When Italian women used belladonna to dilate their pupils, did it damage their eyes?

Answer 1

Nope....unless they suffered from glaucoma (high pressure in the eyes, the front part). BEFORE the belladone in drops, was applied directly to the eye.......however, atropine in the eye, caused severe blurred vision, non focusing properly...and the Bella Donnas (beautifu women, literally, in italian) thought that big black pupils made them look more beautiful...however, they ended up, by not seeing almost anybody clear around, least of them, their potential admirers, and had to be assisted frequently on their way back home, because they saw things so blurred for about 2-3 hours, unable to walk by themselves (its extremely difficult to see anything around other than blurred forms) that made bella donna, a very unimportant part of the beauty armamentarium of the Italian ladies.....
Atropine, as any other alkaloid, is hydrolized locally, and split later into its two main components, and thus, inactivated,....
No permanent damage has been described with bella donna,,,,irritation of the eyes perhaps (lets remember that atropine coming from the belladona bulbs, is soluble in alcohol, and non soluble in water)....so that partially, the belladona, was dissolved in small amounts of alcohol ( Tincture of belladona)......

Answer 2

The plant nicknamed the belladonna or deadly nightshade contains the chemical substance atropine, it does affect the eyes in some manner, athough optomitrists and specialists use it today use it to dilate the pupils so that they can examine the retina. The belladonna also contains two other chemical substances that are used within the medical world; scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which, like atropine, are sedatives and act to relax smooth muscle. all of these chemicals are found in many antispasmodics used to treat many medical conditions.

Answer 3

The main alkaloid of the plant "Atropa belladona" contains 3 alkaloids which are Parasympatolytic.Atropine the main alkaloid in eye drops increases occulat tension . So it should be carefully used in people with Glaucoma. No permanent damage is caused