BEST TIP: Ask your eye doctor if you have any questions or concerns about your eye drops.
You just received an eye drop prescription – what next?
1. Check the expiration date
2. Check the instructions to see if the eye drop needs to be refrigerated.
3. Figure out when in your daily routine it would be most convenient to use the drop and make a reminder for yourself.
a. Set a phone alarm reminder.
b. Place the eye drop bottle next to your toothbrush if you should use it in the morning, at night, or both (unless it has to be refrigerated).
c. Tell a friend or family member you see daily so they can help remind you.
d. Take it at breakfast, lunch dinner and bedtime if it should be taken 4 times a day.
e. Use a reminder like a cable tie on the bottle
4. Note that many eye drops may sting a little for a few seconds – let your eye doctor know if you have a severe irritation or if the mild stinging lasts more than a minute or two.
5. If you received multiple eye drops:
a. Check the names on the bottles against the eye doctor’s instructions to confirm how each drop should be used.
b. There is no strict order for multiple eye drops, but in general, if one is thicker than the other, use the thicker one later as it will likely stay on the eye longer.
c. Plan to separate your drops at least 5 minutes apart to decrease the risk of washing one drop out with the next.
You’re ready to put in the eye drops – what now?
1. Wash your hands before touching around your eyes or instilling eye drops.
2. Check to see if the drop bottle needs to be shaken before instilling a drop. If in doubt, shake it.
3. Remove contact lenses (unless instructed to leave them in by your eye doctor) and glasses.
How can you instill eye the drops safely, cleanly and accurately with minimum waste?
1. Note: do not touch the tip of the bottle on your skin, eye or any other surfaces. It may allow bacteria or other contaminants to get into your bottle and cause an infection.
2. Option 1: tilt your head back or lie down, pull the upper and lower eyelids open, gently squeeze just one drop onto the eyeball.
3. Option 2: tilt your head back or lie down, open or close your eyes gently (no squeezing), stabilize the bottle on the bridge of your nose and place a drop in the inner corner of your eyelids. Then blink gently if your eyes were closed, and the drop will fall onto the eyeball.
4. Option 3: look in the mirror, pull the upper eyelid up or the lower eyelid down, and place a drop in the pocket.
5. Option 4: have a friend or family member help, but keep practicing on your own with artificial tears in case help is not always available.
6. Replace the bottle cap before opening another to decrease risk of mixing up the caps. Do not wipe the bottle tip on anything.
If you have trouble squeezing or aiming the eye drop bottles, there are several different eye drop aids (available online and/or at the local pharmacies). Some common options include:
- AutoSqueeze
- AutoDrop
- GentleDrop
- Easy Eye drops glasses with holes to line up eye drop bottle tips with the eyes
If you are running out of eye drops before the pharmacy can refill them:
1. Have a friend or family member watch your technique to see what the difficulty might be – is it keeping the eyelids open, aiming the bottle, squeezing the bottle so just one drop comes out, using the eye drop more often then recommended?
2. Discuss options with your eye doctor.
3. Consider Nanodropper to decrease the size of each eye drop.
What now after you’ve placed the drop?
1. Did you feel the drop touch your eyeball, not just your eyelid or your eyelashes?
a. If you are not sure, either have someone watch you place the drop, or refrigerate the bottle so you can feel the cold drop touch your eyeball.
2. Close your eyes gently (no squeezing) for about a minute – blinking will pump the medication down your nose and throat faster.
3. If you can taste the medication at the back of your throat and it bothers you, you can put pressure on the tear ducts on the inner corners of your eyes.
4. Don’t instill more than one drop – the space between the eyeball and the eyelid can only hold a small fraction of a typical eye drop, so the rest would be wasted.
5. Dap any excess drops on your face gently with a clean facial tissue, don’t push on the eyelids.
Additional tips:
1. Bring your eye drop bottles (or pictures of them) to every appointment with your eye doctor.
2. Don’t skip a dose the day of your doctor’s appointment – they need to know if the drops you are using have been effective for your treatment.
3. If the bottle is opaque, shake the bottle when it is full so you can get a sense of when it is running low – ask for a refill if necessary before you run out completely.
4. If you miss a dose, instill it once you remember it, and resume your regular dosing schedule even if the next dose is due soon.
5. Remember: your eyelids can only hold a fixed amount of eye drop, so if you placed more than one drop, the excess will run down your face.
6. If your eye drop is for an eye infection or for use after eye surgery, do not use the same bottles on the other eye unless told to do so by your eye doctor.
7. Use the eye drops only as instructed:
a. For example, using a once-daily drop more often will not make it more effective. It will just run out faster and the pharmacy may not be able to refill it promptly.
b. Don’t use old eye drops without an eye doctor’s recommendations. It may put you at risk of an infection or side effects from the medication, like increased eye pressures.
REMEMBER:
If you have a question or a concern about your medication(s), call us at 520-327-3487.
