Hydroxychloroquine - Afraid of losing hair & going blind, what are the chances of this happening?

Hydroxychloroquine is used for many hair loss conditions, including lichen planopilaris, frontal fibrosing alopecia, discoid lupus.

There are both short term and long term eye problems possible with the drug. Any changes should be reported to a physician.

However, it is so important to appreciate that serious eye side effects are really rare in the first few years - when patients and their doctors are trying to find out even if the drug helps the hair disease or not.

Five years is an important cut off many physicians use. The risk of toxicity increases sharply toward 1% after 5 to 7 years of use, or a cumulative dose of 1000 g, of hydroxychloroquine. This equates to about 2500 days of using the drug!!! The risk increases further with continued use of the drug.

In short, it is critical to sit down with your physician and understand the possible eye side effects and get your eye checks done as your physician recommends. It is also important to understand serious eye changes are rare in the short term.

Jeff Donovan MD PhD FRCPC FAAD
US & Canadian board-certified Dermatologist
Toronto, Canada

Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus and also to treat malaria.
While you are taking hydroxychloroquine it is important to have regular eye checks so that any effects on the eye can be detected early and appropriate action taken.
Eye problems are more likely to occur when patients have been taking high doses over long periods of time.
You may or may not experience hair loss.
If you are unlucky enough to develop hair loss you may choose to stop taking the medicine.
All the best.
https://www.drugs.com/hydroxychloroquine.html