Administering Eye Drops
When you first begin treatment, you may find it challenging to administer your eye drops or keep up with your treatment schedule for a variety of reasons. Be sure to talk with your OCB eye doctor or member of your eye care team about any problems you may have with either keeping on schedule, putting the eye drops in or any side effects you may be experiencing and we will help you find a solution to your unique circumstance. Here are a few tips that help.
To administer your eye drops correctly:
- Wash your hands.
- Tilt your head back and with your index finger pull your lower eyelid away from your eye to form a pocket.
- Hold the bottle or dropper over your eye without touching it and allow the drop to fall into the pocket. Then slowly let go of the lower lid
- Slowly let go of the lower lid and close your eyes gently without shutting them too tightly. Be sure to keep them closed without blinking to hold the drop in.
- Gently press on the inside corner of your eye where the lids meet the nose for a few minutes.
- If you have to put in more than one drop or second type of drop, wait at least five minutes before placing the next drop.
Forgetting to take your eye drops? Try using alert features on your smart phone or e-calendar or put your eye drops near your toothbrush or next to your vitamins you take daily. You could also use a calendar and check it off each day after you take the medication.
