Patients often make the mistake of using their eye drops incorrectly, leading to inaccurate dosing, wasted medication, running out of drops earlier than necessary, and potential side effects from systemic absorption.
It is essential to understand the proper way to use their eye drops.
Firstly, it is important to properly position the head and eyes when applying eye drops. To ensure the drops are applied directly to the eye, tilt your head back and pull down on the lower eyelid to form a “pocket”. Then, look up before instilling the drop.
Alternatively, you can lie down and place the drop in the inner corner of the closed eyelid, then open the eye slowly to allow the drop to roll in. If still too difficult with the drop application, you can try eye drop guides such as AutoDrop®, which hold the eye open and improve aim.
There are also adapters such as AutoSqueeze® available, which can make it easier to squeeze the bottle.
Once the eye drops have been applied, it is important to keep the eyes closed for at least one minute afterwards in order to maximize contact with the eye and limit systemic absorption through tear ducts.
Wait at least five minutes before applying another drop or product in the same eye, to prevent the first from being washed out. If taking multiple eye drops, consider staggering the medications throughout the day or using combination drops.
By following these simple tips and advice, you can ensure you are using the eye drops correctly and safely.
When it comes to administering eye drops, there are some important factors to consider to ensure adequate absorption of the medication. For instance, it is recommended to instill solutions first, followed by suspensions or gel-forming drops and then ointments.
This ensures that the medication is absorbed properly and with the greatest effectiveness. It is also important to wait about 15 minutes before inserting contact lenses, and to avoid touching the dropper tip of the solution to the eye to prevent infection or injury.
This is especially important when using preservative-free medications, as touching the dropper tip to the eye can introduce bacteria into the eye.
