How to Use Eye Drops PROPERLY

How to use eye drops properly is a problem for many of the patients who use eye drops regularly.

 

If you miss or end up on the eyelid, you are wasting precious eye drops. 

 

So we will show you the proper steps to use eye drops properly. And I’ll share some pro tips that’ll make it a lot easier and may even save you money. 

 

If you’re somebody who blinks a lot or flinches due to the Eye drops coming in, or maybe a child who can’t stand using eye drops.

 

Then I’ll share a more innovative way to get eye drops in even with the eyes closed. With the best tips in education all about the eyes and vision, the following tip is a complete series about eye drops.

 

Whether looking for the best eye drops for dry eyes, red dyes, or itchy eyes, you want to check out the entire series. Applying eye drops quickly and without missing them is a technical question. 

 

Wash Your hands.

 

Always wash the hands you’re going to be touching around your eyes. No one wants to get himself infected. 

 

Check the expiration date of the eye drops.

Check the expiration date on the side of the box. If it is expired, then it’s best not to use it. Otherwise, the active ingredients don’t work, and you get more side effects and possibly cause a burn or irritation to the Eye.

 

Shake the eye drops.

 

Shaking the bottle for 10 seconds that’s going to mix around the ingredients and improve the effectiveness of many eye drop medications.

 

Remove the cap.  

 

Remove the bottle’s cap and place the lid on a clean surface, such as a clean tissue paper or paper towel. Find someplace where it’s not going to contaminate the top. Observe the tip of the bottle for any coloration change because that could be a sign of contamination.

 

Pull down the lower eyelid.

It is essential, and that is to use your fingertips to hold down the lower eyelid that you’re going to be administering the drops in.

 

I prefer to use my non-dominant hand to hold that lower eyelid down, creating a little pocket that essentially increases the target size for the Eye drops to get in the Eye.

 

It’s best to get your fingertips right to the eyelid margin, as that will create a larger eyelid pocket.

 

Tilt the head back and look upward while dropping one eye drop into the Eye.

While holding your lower eyelid down, you’ll lift your chin and gaze up toward the ceiling.

 

And then, with your dominant hand holding the eyedropper, you’re going to place a single eye drop into the Eye. It’s important not to touch the dropper to the Eye or the eyelid because that could cause contamination to the dropper.

And another pro tip is to keep your arm in the air because it will be harder for you to hit that target of your Eye.

 

Instead, I like to rest my dominant hand on the back of the hand holding the eyelid so I can position it just at the right height.

 

Another key and important pro tip here is only to use one drop simultaneously.

Using more drops than one isn’t going to improve the effectiveness of the drop; instead, it’s just going to waste the drops.

 

It may increase your chances of side effects.

 

Close the eyes and occlude the drainage canal for 30 seconds.

 

After you’ve got the eye drop in, try to keep your eyelids closed without blinking. Keeping the eyelids closed will keep that medication in the Eye and improve its effectiveness. 

 

If you blink several times, that will flush those drops through the Eye’s drainage canal down to your nasal cavity.

 

You can even do punctual occlusion, using your fingers to block the Eye’s drainage canals. If you feel right between your nose, you can handle these little bumps right there: the drainage canal.

 

If you block that for 30 seconds with your eyelids closed, that will further reduce the drainage of those drops through the drainage canal. And it even helps prevent systemic absorption and potential side effects. 

 

After that, you can wipe away any excess drops from your eyelid with clean tissue. Then recap your bottle. If you have difficulty getting eye drops in because you’re constantly blinking or flinching.

 

 Or maybe you have a young child who has a problem with eye drops, and there is an intelligent way to put in eye drops without flinching. 

 

In the eye clinic, if somebody’s having difficulty getting drops in, we usually ask them to close their eyes. This way, they don’t have to see the fall coming toward them, and then they look up toward the ceiling.

 

Alternatively, you can do this while lying down and then put the drop in yourself or have a friend do it.

 

You’re going to put a single drop right into the corner of the Eye by your nose.

 

Once the eye drop is in the corner, you open your eyes, and then you will feel the eye drop apply itself to the surface of the entire Eye. 

After that, you can again close your eyes, and punctual occlude for about 30 seconds. If you are applying the eye drop to yourself in this manner, it’s essential first to align the Eye drops over the Eye, then get it in the correct position and not onto your eyelid.

 

Rest the bottle slightly on the bridge of your nose。 Then you can see the front edge of the tip, then tilt it slightly down and close your eyes. The drop should fall right in.

 

If you use multiple eye drop medications, you want to space those out by about 5 to 10 minutes. Using too many at a time would flush out the last eye drop.

In addition, while using eye drop gels or ointments, then make sure to use those in the last place.

 

Otherwise, the gel and cream are too thick, and the drops will not get through. It is also a good idea to check the video on How to Use Eye Drops PROPERLY.

 

If you are a contact lens wearer, learn how to use eye drops properly is very important, it is always best to remove those lenses before putting in any eye drops. They make re-wetting drops for contact lenses that you can use while wearing your contacts.

 

If you are unsure about the Eye drops, you can try refrigerating them because that’ll give them a cooling effect and make it more obvious when you’ve got them in. 

If you’re unsure if your eye drops can be refrigerated, always ask your eye care provider or pharmacist for more information. 

 

In Conclusion, it is very important to know How to Use Eye Drops PROPERLY.