Alphagan P Eye Drop

Alphagan P is a 5 mL bottle of brimonidine tartrate 0.15% eye drops for open-angle glaucoma and high eye pressure (ocular hypertension). The pack we sell is the Indian Alphagan P, listed by Indian pharmacies under Allergan India Pvt Ltd (Apollo Pharmacy names Allergan Healthcare India Pvt Ltd). It costs $18 for one bottle, or from $13.33 a bottle in the 6 bottle pack, before shipping.

Brimonidine lowers eye pressure, but glaucoma treatment is not something to run on your own. Raised pressure damages the optic nerve and the field of vision, the effect of a drop can fade over time, and only an eye doctor measuring your pressure can tell whether a drop is working. Use Alphagan P only as part of care from an eye doctor, with regular pressure checks. Clinical details on this page come from the US, Australian and UK labels listed under Sources.

Alphagan P at a glance

Price per bottle

Prices as of October 2026; the pack selector shows the current price. None of the packs reaches the $149 free shipping level on its own, so each includes the $25 shipping charge below unless you add other items.

How long a bottle lasts depends on your schedule and on the opened-bottle rule for the pack. The Australian Alphagan P label says to discard the contents 4 weeks after opening, and the UK label for Alphagan 0.2% gives 28 days; check the Indian carton for its own instruction. If you open one bottle every 4 weeks, a 6 bottle pack covers about 24 weeks (our estimate).

Compared with Alphagan P and generic brimonidine in the US

In the US, Alphagan P comes as 0.1% and 0.15% (AbbVie), and generic brimonidine glaucoma drops are sold as 0.1%, 0.15% and 0.2%. The figures below are what US pharmacies paid per bottle according to the Medicaid NADAC survey (file as of 14 October 2026, rates effective 23 September 2026). They are pharmacy acquisition costs, not the price at the counter.

Generic brimonidine 0.2% is far cheaper for US pharmacies than any 0.15% product, so if you are in the US and have a prescription, compare US generic cash prices and your insurance cover before ordering from abroad. In two 12-month trials, Alphagan P 0.15% caused less allergic conjunctivitis and dry mouth than the original Alphagan 0.2% (see Side effects), which is one reason a doctor may choose it over the cheaper 0.2% drop.

Which strength to choose

Brimonidine glaucoma eye drops come in three strengths. The choice belongs to your eye doctor, who will weigh pressure control against side effects.

Our Alphagan Eye Drop is the Indian 0.2% product with benzalkonium chloride (Apollo Pharmacy listing). It costs about $11.46 to $12 a bottle before shipping, a little less than Alphagan P. Do not swap between the two strengths without asking your eye doctor. If you need brimonidine and a beta blocker together, Combigan Eye Drop combines brimonidine 0.2% with timolol in one bottle.

How to use Alphagan P

1. Wash your hands. Tilt your head back, pull the lower lid down gently and put one drop into the pocket.
2. Do not let the bottle tip touch your eye, lids, fingers or any surface. The US label warns that contaminated eye drop bottles have caused bacterial eye infections, and that "serious damage to the eye and subsequent loss of vision may result."
3. Close the eye and press on the inner corner (the tear duct) for about a minute. The Australian label advises pressure on the tear duct to reduce how much reaches the bloodstream.
4. Use it on the schedule your eye doctor sets. The US label dose for 0.1% and 0.15% is one drop three times daily, about 8 hours apart.
5. If you use other eye drops, leave at least 5 minutes between them (US label 2 and 17).
6. Replace the cap after each use. Do not use the drops if the solution changes colour or becomes cloudy, or after the expiry date (US label 17). The solution is normally clear and greenish yellow.

Contact lenses. The US Alphagan P label gives no contact lens instruction. The UK label for Alphagan 0.2%, which contains benzalkonium chloride, says to remove lenses before the drop and wait at least 15 minutes before putting them back. The Indian listings we checked do not name the preservative in the Indian Alphagan P, so unless your eye doctor says otherwise, taking lenses out and waiting 15 minutes is the cautious choice (our advice).

Keep using it and keep your checks. The Australian label says some patients lost the effect during the studies, that the pressure drop seen in the first month "may not always reflect the long-term level of IOP reduction", and that patients on pressure-lowering drops "should be routinely monitored for IOP". Do not stop or change your drops without your eye doctor, and if you have eye surgery or develop an eye injury or infection, ask your doctor straight away whether to keep using the same bottle (US label 17).

Groups who need extra care

• Heart and circulation. The US label says Alphagan P "should be used with caution" in people with depression, cerebral or coronary insufficiency, Raynaud's phenomenon, orthostatic hypotension (dizziness on standing) or thromboangiitis obliterans, and that caution is needed in severe cardiovascular disease (5.1, 5.2).
• Children aged 2 and over. The Australian label says children 2 years and above, especially those weighing 20 kg or less, "should be treated with caution and closely monitored" because of the high rate and severity of drowsiness. In a study described in the US label, of brimonidine 0.2% three times daily in children aged 2 to 7, somnolence affected 50% to 83% of those aged 2 to 6 and about 25% of those aged 7 and over (above 20 kg); about 16% stopped because of it (US label 8.4). The UK label for 0.2% says it is not recommended under 12.
• Liver or kidney problems. Not studied; the Australian label advises caution.
• Pregnancy. There are no adequate studies in pregnant women. The US label says use it in pregnancy "only if the potential benefit to the mother justifies the potential risk to the fetus" (8.1). Australian pregnancy category B3.
• Breastfeeding. The US label says Alphagan P "is not recommended for use during lactation" because of the risk of central nervous system depression and apnea in nursing infants (8.2). The UK 0.2% label says it should not be used by women nursing infants.
• Driving and machines. Alphagan P "may cause fatigue and/or drowsiness in some patients" (US label 17), and the Australian label adds blurred vision or visual disturbance. Wait until these clear before driving or doing anything that needs full alertness.

Medicines to mention to your doctor:

• Alcohol and other sedating medicines (barbiturates, opiates, sedatives, anaesthetics): the label says the possibility of an "additive or potentiating effect" should be considered (US 7.2).
• Blood pressure medicines and cardiac glycosides: caution, because Alphagan P may lower blood pressure (US 7.1). The Australian label names beta blockers, including beta blocker eye drops, in the same warning.
• Tricyclic antidepressants: caution in the US and Australian Alphagan P labels (US 7.3); contraindicated in the UK 0.2% label, along with mianserin.
• MAO inhibitors: see the next section.

Side effects

The current US label pools brimonidine 0.1% to 0.2% and gives frequency bands rather than a table by strength (6.1):

• About 10% to 20%: allergic conjunctivitis, red eyes (conjunctival hyperemia), itchy eyes.
• About 5% to 9%: burning, conjunctival folliculosis (small bumps on the inner lid), high blood pressure, eye allergy, dry mouth, visual disturbance.
• About 1% to 4%: includes blurred vision, dry eye, eye pain, eyelid swelling and redness, follicular conjunctivitis, sensitivity to light, headache, tiredness, drowsiness, dizziness, low blood pressure, altered taste and others.

The Australian label gives rates for Alphagan P 0.15% from two 12-month trials in which it was compared with the original Alphagan 0.2%, both used three times daily:

Source: Australian Product Information for Alphagan P 1.5, section 5.1 (pooled data from two 12-month trials). Allergic conjunctivitis with Alphagan P 0.15% led 7.4% of trial patients to stop, and in most it began between 3 and 9 months into treatment (section 4.8), so a red, itchy eye months after starting can still be the drop. The Australian label also reports delayed eye allergy with Alphagan, sometimes with a rise in eye pressure.

Reports since approval include slow or fast heartbeat, fainting, depression, iritis, dry eye, small pupils, nausea and skin reactions (US label 6.2).

When to get urgent help

• A baby or young child gets the drops or swallows them. Call emergency services or poison control straight away (911 in the US and Canada, 999 in the UK, 000 in Australia; US Poison Help 1-800-222-1222; Australian Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26). Apnea (stopped breathing), slow heart rate, coma, low blood pressure, low body temperature, floppiness, unusual sleepiness, pallor and slowed breathing have been reported in infants and children given brimonidine for congenital glaucoma or after accidental swallowing (US label 8.4 and 10). Keep the bottle out of children's reach.
• An adult swallows the drops. Get medical advice. Low blood pressure is the only reaction reported in adults so far (US label 10) (the UK label adds that it was followed by a rebound rise in blood pressure).
• Eye pain, a change in vision, or signs of eye infection (increasing redness, discharge, swelling) or an eye injury: contact your eye doctor the same day. Contaminated drops can cause serious eye infection and loss of vision (US label 5.3 and 17).
• Signs of eye allergy (red, itchy, swollen eyes or lids that keep getting worse): contact your eye doctor promptly. The UK 0.2% label says treatment should be stopped if allergic reactions are seen, but your doctor needs to arrange another drop so your pressure stays controlled.
• Fainting, a very slow heartbeat or severe dizziness: get medical help.
• Allergy signs beyond the eye (swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, widespread rash or hives): call emergency services. Hypersensitivity is listed in the US label (6.2).

Tell emergency staff what was used or swallowed (brimonidine eye drops), how much and when.

Who should not use Alphagan P

Never use it if:

• You have had an allergic reaction to brimonidine or any ingredient of the drops (contraindicated, US label 4.2).
• It is for a newborn, a baby or a child under 2 years (contraindicated, US label 4.1; also the Australian and UK labels).
• You take an MAO inhibitor antidepressant. The Australian Alphagan P label and the UK Alphagan 0.2% label make this a contraindication. The US label calls it a caution (7.4) because MAO inhibitors may theoretically interfere with brimonidine breakdown and increase effects such as low blood pressure.

Not recommended, or only with your doctor's agreement:

• Breastfeeding: "not recommended for use during lactation" (US label 8.2).
• Tricyclic antidepressants or mianserin: contraindicated in the UK 0.2% label; caution in the US and Australian Alphagan P labels.
• Severe heart disease, depression, poor blood flow to the brain or heart, Raynaud's phenomenon, orthostatic hypotension or thromboangiitis obliterans: use with caution (US label 5.1 and 5.2).
• Children aged 2 and over: only under close monitoring (Australian label 4.4).

Prescription and legal status

Brimonidine glaucoma eye drops (0.1% to 0.2%) are prescription medicines in the US ("Rx only" on the Alphagan P label), the UK (Alphagan 0.2% is a prescription only medicine on the emc), Australia (Schedule 4, Prescription Only Medicine, AUST R 158888) and Canada (Alphagan P, DIN 02248151, prescription). Indian pharmacy listings also mark Alphagan P as a prescription drug. Alphagan P is FDA approved in the US, but the Indian pack we sell is not the US-approved pack, and the FDA says personal importation of unapproved medicines is illegal in most circumstances. On the UK emc, brimonidine eye drops are listed only at 0.2% (Alphagan, generics and combinations); Alphagan P is not listed. Check the rules where you live, and keep your eye doctor informed of every drop you use.

Buying genuine Alphagan P

The MHRA warns: "Any medicine not authorised for sale in the UK can be unsafe or ineffective and there is no way of knowing what is in them or the negative health effects they can have." It also advises: "Only use UK-registered pharmacies, including online pharmacies displaying the official green cross logo." When your order arrives, check that the carton and bottle say Alphagan P and brimonidine tartrate 0.15%, name Allergan, and show a batch number and an expiry date, that the seal is intact, and that the solution is clear. These checks cannot prove a bottle is genuine, because counterfeiters copy packaging. Keep your pressure checks: if your eye doctor finds your pressure is higher than before on the same drop, tell them where the bottle came from. If a batch causes symptoms, seek medical advice and report it to your medicines regulator (the MHRA Yellow Card scheme in the UK, FDA MedWatch in the US, the TGA in Australia or Health Canada) as well as to us.

Delivery

We ship Alphagan P to the US, UK, Australia and Canada in plain packaging with tracking. Standard delivery takes 7 to 14 business days, so order well before your current bottle runs out; glaucoma drops should not be missed while you wait. Shipping costs a flat $25 on orders under $149 and is free from $149. Store the bottle as the carton says (the US label gives 15°C to 25°C). See our shipping page and refund policy.

Related guides

• Glaucoma eye drops: every type explained
• Latanoprost eye drops: dosage, side effects and buying online
• Lumigan eye drops for glaucoma
• How to buy eye care medicine online safely

Other glaucoma drops: Dorzox Eye Drop (dorzolamide), Azopt Eye Drop (brinzolamide), Latoprost Eye Drop (latanoprost) and Lumigan 0.01% (bimatoprost). See also our glaucoma treatment overview.

Sources

• Alphagan P (brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution) 0.1% and 0.15%, US prescribing information, Allergan/AbbVie, DailyMed setid 264c4494-c225-486f-888a-caaf36be46b3, label version 25 effective 18 September 2025, sections 1 to 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17. DailyMed
• Alphagan P 1.5 (brimonidine tartrate) eye drops, Australian Product Information, AbbVie Pty Ltd, revised 19 September 2023, sections 4.1 to 4.9, 5.1, 5.2, 6 and 7. TGA ARTG 158888
• Alphagan 0.2% w/v (2 mg/ml) eye drops, solution, UK Summary of Product Characteristics, AbbVie Ltd, revised 8 December 2025, sections 2, 4.2 to 4.9 and 6.3. emc
• Health Canada Drug Product Database: Alphagan P (DIN 02248151, brimonidine tartrate 0.15%, prescription, marketed) and Alphagan (DIN 02236876, 0.2%), searched October 2026. Health Canada DPD
• US Food and Drug Administration, Drugs@FDA: Alphagan P 0.15% (NDA 021262, approved 16 March 2001) and 0.1% (NDA 021770, approved 19 August 2005). Drugs@FDA
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC), Alphagan P and brimonidine eye drops, per-NDC rows, 2026 file as of 14 October 2026 (rates effective 23 September 2026). data.medicaid.gov
• Apollo Pharmacy and PharmEasy. Alphagan P Drops 5 ml and Alphagan Eye Drops 5ml listings, accessed October 2026. Apollo Pharmacy
• MHRA. 20 million illegal erectile dysfunction pills seized as MHRA warns against risky online buys, 13 February 2026. GOV.UK
• US Food and Drug Administration. Personal Importation. FDA

This page is for information and is not medical advice. Brimonidine is a prescription medicine; your eye doctor should set your treatment and check your eye pressure.