How do you put drops in your eyes?
There are many reasons you may have difficulty with eye drops. Being scared of putting things in your eyes is very common and some people instinctively close their eyes when drops come near – this is a natural response as your eyes are trying to protect themselves! You may also have unsteady hands, a weak grip, or poor hand-to-eye coordination, which can make you miss the target. We know how stressful this can be, so we’ve put together a quick guide to help.
Reasons you may need eye drops
People are using eye drops for both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) problems. Some common reasons include:
- Before or after surgery e.g. for cataracts
- Inflammation, redness, swelling or irritation
- Dry Eye Disease, Blepharitis and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD)
- Stye and Chalazion
- Infected eyes
- Eye allergies such as allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
- Eye conditions such as glaucoma
How to put drops in your eye
The National Eye Institute (NEI)¹ recommends following these simple steps:
- Tilt your head back and look up
- With one hand, pull your lower eyelid down and away from your eyeball — this makes a “pocket” for the drops
- With the other hand, hold the eye drop bottle upside down with the tip just above the eyelid pocket you have created
- Squeeze the recommended number of eye drops into the eyelid pocket as recommended by your health care professional or in the packaged information leaflet
- For at least one minute, close your eye and press your finger lightly on your tear duct (small hole in the inner corner of your eye) — this keeps the eye drop from draining into your nose.
You might find that using a mirror helps to initially line up the bottle with your eye. It’s always best to avoid looking directly at the tip of the bottle as well, because you are more likely to blink as the eye drop goes in. If you miss your eye, don’t worry! Take a deep breath, stay calm, and after a few moments try again. Be careful not to instil more drops than you have been advised.
How often to use eye drops
The frequency of application depends on the reason for your eye drops. Always follow the advice of your eye health professional and refer to the instructions on the bottle.
Preservative-free eye drops have fewer additives so are better for people who need to use eye drops more regularly and long-term.
If you need to take more than one type of eye drop, always wait at least fifteen minutes before applying different drops in the same eye. This is to ensure that the previous eye drops you have already instilled aren’t washed away by subsequent ones!
Preventing infections when using eye drops
It’s important to wash your hands before putting in eye drops and take care not to touch the tip of the dispensing bottle. Also, keep the tip of the bottle away from your eyes. If you’ve been prescribed eye drops for infection, avoid touching your eyes, using the same bottle of eye drops for both eyes, and avoid sharing towels and using eye makeup.
As prescribed or purchased for your specific eye needs, you must not be share your eye drops with someone else also to avoid the risk of contamination.
Struggling with drops? Théa has the answer
To help with putting in your eye drops Théa invented the unique ABAK® bottle. This high-tech dispenser delivers up to 300 drops through a filter to prevent microbial contamination. It’s small, user-friendly and really easy to squeeze, even for those with limited dexterity. Each squeeze of the bottle delivers a calibrated eye drop, so there is no risk of squirting out more than you need.
If you are still struggling with your eye drops for dry eye, Thea also offers a spray solution to help soothing your symptoms.
Maintaining a good eye care routine is key to healthy eyes and our range of Théa products can help. From dry eye drops to eyelid cleansing solutions, you can browse our full range here.
¹ https://www.nei.nih.gov/Glaucoma/glaucoma-medicines/how-put-eye-drops