II. Precautions
- Proper use of eye drops prevents systemic absorption, inaccurate dosing and medication waste
- Avoid touching dropper tip to eye (avoids bottle contamination)
- Wait at least 5 minutes before instilling another drop of the same or a different agent
- Allows for maximal concentration delivery of each medication drop without dilution
- Alternatively, may stagger medications at different times of day
- Instill medications in order of least viscous first
- Solutions first
- Suspensions or gels
- Ointments last
III. Technique: Standard Technique
- Method 1
- Patient tilts head back
- Pull downward on lower lid to create a pocket to hold medication
- Look up before instilling drops
- Method 2
- Patient lies supine
- With eyes closed, instill a drop at the medial canthus
- Slowly open the eye and allow the medication to drop into eye
- Adjunctive
- Drop guides (e.g. Ezy-Drop) help hold the eye open
- Drop adapters (e.g. autosqueeze) help squeeze the bottle
IV. Technique: Don't Open Eyes Technique for Eye Drop Instillation (DOT for Topical Ophthalmic)
- Reduces systemic absorption of ophthalmic preparations
- Ophthalmic Beta Blockers have been associated with Beta Blocker Toxicity
- Method
- Instill medication using technique as above
- Keep eyes closed for 1-5 minutes following installation of eye drops
- Consider also applying pressure at lacrimal ducts to prevent drainage
- Mechanism
- Keeping eyes closed limits drainage of ophthalmic medication into tear ducts
- Medication is more easily systemically absorbed at tear duct
V. References
- (2018) Presc Lett 25(5):28
- (2013) Presc Lett 20(7):40