HOW TO INSTILL EYE DROPS

Every one of us, at some or other time gets an occasion to instill eye drops. People with glaucoma need to instill eye drops every day, for life long periods. The proper technique of eye drop instillation should be followed. Otherwise the instilled eye drops may overflow or drain into the nose and may not reach the eye, where it is required. Improper instillation of eye drops is one of the major reasons for failure of treatment. Here are the steps of proper eye drops instillation.

 

HOW TO INSTILL YOUR OWN EYE DROPS:

1.                  Check the bottle for the following: Correct medication, Expiry date, how many days since it’s opened, whether the tip of nozzle is contaminated.

Read the instructions given by doctor. Know how many times a day to use the drops, whether to put the drops in the right or left eye or both, and how many drops to use.

                                                                   




2.                  Wash your hands. When instilling eye drops, you will be putting your hands near the eyes. It is necessary for your hands to be clean so as not to infect the eyes or add any dirt.

 

                                                           


3.                  Shake the bottle well if required. Most prescription eye drops are in a suspension solution, which means that the medicine has separated from the water that makes the drops a liquid. With some medications, just shaking the bottle up and down may cause bubbles to form, which could get into your eyes. With suspension solutions, you need to move the bottle back and forth several times or turn the bottle upside down to mix the solution.

 

4.                  Sit where you are able to bend your head backwards or lie flat. Alternatively, stand in front of a mirror and bend your head backwards.

 

                                                


 

5.                  Take the top off the eye drop bottle and position the bottle over the bridge of your nose or against your eyebrow.

                          



               

6.                   Using index finger, gently pull down on the area below your lower lid. This pulls the lower lid away from the eye, forming a small pocket inside your eye lid.

 

                                                 


 

7.                  Look up toward the eyebrows. Gently squeeze the bottle so that one eyedrop falls into the small pocket created just inside your lower eyelid. If the eye drop lands here, it is usually more comfortable than if it lands directly on your eye. Usually, one eye drop is sufficient. Although two eye drops are not necessary, do not worry if you get two eye drops on your eye at the same time because the first eye drop will be “washed out” by the second eye drop.

Do not let the tip of the bottle touch the eye or eye lashes, because this may contaminate the eyedrop and raise your risk of infection.

                                                         


 

8.                  Once the eye drop is in, close the eyes gently, so the drops are distributed around the entire eye. This ensured that the eye drop reaches the eye. Do not keep your eyes open which can make the eye drop evaporate. Do not squeeze your eye tightly which forces the eye drop out side to flow onto the cheeks.  

To prevent the drops from draining into the nose and entering your system, gently press the index finger to the inner corner of the eye near the nose (Lacrimal sac area). Hold for five minutes.

                                                              


 

9.                  Dab your eye with a clean cotton to remove any excess eye drops.

10.              Put the top back on the bottle and store it in a cool, dark place (e.g in fridge) and wash your hands again.

 

HOW TO INSTILL EYE DROPS INTO SOMEONE ELSE:

Follow steps 1 to 3 as above.

1.                  Make the person lie down flat or sit down with head tilted backward

2.                  Remove the cap from the eye drop bottle and position the bottle over the eye (some people find it easier to rest their hand on their patient’s forehead)

3.                  Gently pull the lower eyelid downwards.

4.                  Squeeze the bottle until a drop is seen to fall into the eye.

5.                  Release the lower lid which apposes the eyeball. Ask the patient to gently close the eyes and compress the lacrimal sac area.

6.                  Put the top back on the bottle and store it in dark cool place/

7.                  Wash your hands again.



 

Tips & Warnings

If you are putting in more than one kind of eye drop, wait 10 minutes before putting in the second drop. This allows the first drop to get into the eye before being washed away by the second drop.

Please note that certain types of eye drops sting when you first put them into the eye. Prolonged stinging, redness or any other unusual symptoms should be reported to your ophthalmologist at your next appointment.

Unless you are told otherwise you should not wear contact lenses in the affected eye for the course of the treatment.

Most eye drops will expire after one month of opening. This can vary between the different types of eye drops.

 

INSTILL EYEDROPS IN A CHILD

The actual instillation remains the same. But following tips will make the procedure easy.

  1. Show the child what the container of eye drops/ointment looks like. Put some on the back of the child's hand so he or she knows what it feels like.
  2. Use your finger to point at your own eye and show where the drop/ointment is going to be instilled. You can also pretend to instill some in the parent's eye to show the child what to expect.
  3. Ask the parent to hold the child in a gentle, comforting manner.
  4. Encourage the parent to speak to the child in a comforting way throughout the procedure and to cuddle the child immediately afterwards.
  5. A baby or child who is too young to cooperate may be wrapped in a sheet or blanket to restrain their arms.
  6. Work as quickly and calmly as you can - this minimizes the child's distress.
  7. The skin of neonates is thin and the drug can get absorbed through skin into the body. From the cheek skin. To avoid this, Dabbing the drops from the cheek is very important.

 

 

 

 

 

HOW TO INSTILL EYE OINTMENT:

 

It’s similar to the instillation of eye drops.

 

  • Ask the patient to look up, and evert the lower eyelid to ensure correct placement of the eye ointment.
  • Taking care not to touch the eye, hold the applicator just above the eye and deliver a line of ointment along the lower conjunctiva, from the nasal corner in an outward direction.
  • Ask the patient to gently close the eye to distribute the ointment across it.
  • Wipe away any excess ointment with the gauze to avoid irritation to the peri-orbital skin.

                                                      

 


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