How to Use Eye Drops Correctly
All of us have to use eye drops from time to time. It’s smart to have something with you in case you have an allergic reaction, or when your eyes are tired or dry. But not everyone knows how to use eye drops correctly.
5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you how to use eye drops correctly.
❗ Important: This article is for informative purposes only and can’t replace the recommendations of experts. Before using eye drops, you should consult a doctor.
Preparation
Before using eye drops, you have to make sure your hands are absolutely clean. This way, you will prevent contaminating the drops with the germs from your fingers.
Sometimes, it’s not very clear if you actually managed to get a drop into your eye or not. You can cool the bottle down in the fridge — that way you will be able to feel the cold liquid better.
If you wear contact lenses, it might be a good idea to remove them (unless your eye doctor says otherwise).
If you need to use more than 1 type of drops, wait around 10 minutes between each application for the liquid to get fully absorbed.
The process
- Tilt your head back.
- Carefully pull the lower eyelid down to make a small “pocket” between the eyeball and the eyelid.
- Take a drop bottle and hold it with your thumb and index finger.
- Rest that hand on the hand that is gently pulling down on your lower eyelid.
- Slowly press on the bottle to push out a drop and get it into the “pocket.”
- Slowly release your lower eyelid and close your eyes for a few minutes.
- Gently press against the inner corner of your eye to prevent the drop from draining out of the eye.
Recommendations
Some people can’t stand eye manipulations and feel anxious when they have to touch their eyes. If you are one of them, try a different way.
Lie on a bed or couch and put your head back. Take the eye drop bottle with your thumb and first 2 fingers, and put your other fingers on your nose for stability. Close your eyes, put an eye drop in the corner of your eye and, with your head still tilted back, open your eyes and blink several times, so the drop rolls into the eye.