Atropine Eye Drops for Watery Eyes (Excessive Tearing)

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if low-dose atropine eye drops work to reduce excessive watery eyes (epiphora) in adults. It will also learn about the safety of the eye drops.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Do the eye drops reduce how often participants have watery eyes? What medical problems do participants have when taking the eye drops?

Researchers will compare two strengths of the eye drops (0.005% and 0.01%) to see whether one works better than the other and whether the lower strength works as well as the higher one.

Participants will:

* Use the assigned eye drops in the affected eye(s) for one week * Visit the clinic twice for checkups and eye tests * Receive a follow-up phone call about two weeks after starting, to check on any symptoms

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Key information

Conditions

Epiphora Eye Diseases Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

Greater Houston Eye Consultants, Houston, Texas, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

You may be able to join if you:

Are 18 years or older
Have vision of 20/200 or better in at least one eye
Have watery eyes (epiphora) bad enough to need wiping or dabbing at least twice a day
Have watering caused by a functional/idiopathic, gustatory ("crocodile tears"), environmentally triggered (reflex), or obstructive cause - in one or both eyes
Have a healthy eye surface, with no significant dry eye, active eye infection, or active eye inflammation
Have adequate eyelid position and tone, where surgery is not the main treatment needed and reducing tear production is likely to help
Are willing and able to put drops in your eye(s) once each night for 7 days and attend the study visits
Can understand and follow the study procedures and communicate with study staff (an interpreter is allowed)

You will not be able to join if you:

Have significant dry eye disease
Have had an active eye infection within the past 30 days
Have an active tear-sac infection, or a blocked tear duct that needs urgent surgery (a blocked tear duct that does not need surgery is allowed)
Currently use eye drops that affect tear production or eye-surface testing, unless you are willing to stop them for the study
Are allergic to, or should not take, atropine, similar (anticholinergic) medicines, or any ingredient in the study drops
Have narrow-angle or angle-closure glaucoma, where dilating the pupil would not be safe for you
Are pregnant or breastfeeding
Are taking part in another interventional study, or took part in one within 30 days before screening
Have any condition that, in the doctor's judgment, would make it unsafe for you to join or hard to follow the study

Treatment and study plan

Atropine ophthalmic solution

Drug

The interventions are two low doses of atropine ophthalmic solution

Primary outcomes

Munk Score Change

Time frame: Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 1 week

Proportion of subjects achieving a clinically meaningful Munk responder response (reduction of ≥2 Munk grades from baseline to Visit 2)

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Rehan Ahmed

CONTACT

[email protected]

713-661-6500

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rehan Ahmed

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized, Double-Masked, Dose-Ranging Study of Atropine Sulfate Ophthalmic Solution for the Treatment of Symptoms of Epiphora

Important dates

Study start: 2026
Primary completion: 2026
Study completion: 2026
First posted: Jun 30, 2026
Registry last updated: Jun 30, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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