The History of Eye Drops

Ancient Egyptians and Greeks darkened their eyelashes with antimony, a toxic chemical element. Cleopatra was known to drop extracts of other nightshades into her eyes in order to dilate her pupils. Poisoners have seen Belladonna, or deadly nightshade, as a tool in their arsenal as well. In 1994, an Edinburgh biologist named Paul Agater was convicted of attempted murder after dosing his wife's tonic water, along with a dozen other bottles with the toxic chemical. The good news is that today, optometrists use an alternative to Belladonna when dilating their patients' pupils - especially where children are concerned.