How is my Optic Nerve,
Doctor?
Doctor?
Eye drop installation
How Eye Drops are Properly Used
Eye drops to lower intraocular pressure are the most important form of initial treatment for glaucoma. Unless eye drops are used correctly, they will not be effective and glaucoma can worsen. As many as one half of all glaucoma patients fail to take their eye drops correctly. For some, this means forgetting one or moredoses of an eye drop. Others may remember to take them, but do somay be washed out by excessive blinking or tears. incorrectly. In this case, the eye drop may not be placed properly on the eye or Taking an eye drop at the wrong time is also incorrect, and can lead to worsening of glaucoma. If the interval between taking the same medication is either too short or too long, the effectiveness will be reduced. For example, an eye drop which is taken too soon after another may actually wash the first one from the outside of the eye and reduce its effectiveness.
Some patients are under the mistaken impression that two or more drops at a time of the same medication may be more effective than one. In fact, using more than the prescribed dose may cause a drug overdose with consequent side-effects. Despite the widespread use of eye drops, many patients do not know how to apply them correctly. Fortunately, there are several ways to do this effectively.
1. Lean your head back and look up toward your eyebrows while in front of a mirror or reclining in a chair or bed (Figure 1). The lower lid should be gently pulled down to form a small pocket in which the drops are placed. This is most readily accomplished by gently pulling the skin down with one finger. Since more than one drop may be administered accidentally, a tissue should be kept handy to wipe the excess from the skin.
2. After applying the drop, the eyelids should be gently closed for about two minutes to allow time for the medication to be absorbed into the eye. Although you may feel like blinking, you should try to avoid this. Blinking may squeeze the drop out of the eye and into the tear duct which leads into the nose. Squeezing the lids closed also may cause the drop to spill over onto the cheek. By gently closing the lids, the medication will remain in contact with the eye so that it can be absorbed.
3. Block the tear ducts with your thumb or index finger for two minutes as the eyelids are gently closed, so the flow of the drop and the tears into the nose can be avoided.
Note: Be sure that your eyes are closed while you block the tear ducts. Since tears normally flow from the surface of the eye into the tear ducts, a drop which is placed on the eye and mixes with tears will do the same. This is particularly important since the inside of the nose is like a sponge. It can readily absorb the drop into the blood, where it can then affect your heart, lungs and brain.
Eye drops to lower intraocular pressure are the most important form of initial treatment for glaucoma. Unless eye drops are used correctly, they will not be effective and glaucoma can worsen. As many as one half of all glaucoma patients fail to take their eye drops correctly. For some, this means forgetting one or moredoses of an eye drop. Others may remember to take them, but do somay be washed out by excessive blinking or tears. incorrectly. In this case, the eye drop may not be placed properly on the eye or Taking an eye drop at the wrong time is also incorrect, and can lead to worsening of glaucoma. If the interval between taking the same medication is either too short or too long, the effectiveness will be reduced. For example, an eye drop which is taken too soon after another may actually wash the first one from the outside of the eye and reduce its effectiveness.
Some patients are under the mistaken impression that two or more drops at a time of the same medication may be more effective than one. In fact, using more than the prescribed dose may cause a drug overdose with consequent side-effects. Despite the widespread use of eye drops, many patients do not know how to apply them correctly. Fortunately, there are several ways to do this effectively.
1. Lean your head back and look up toward your eyebrows while in front of a mirror or reclining in a chair or bed (Figure 1). The lower lid should be gently pulled down to form a small pocket in which the drops are placed. This is most readily accomplished by gently pulling the skin down with one finger. Since more than one drop may be administered accidentally, a tissue should be kept handy to wipe the excess from the skin.
2. After applying the drop, the eyelids should be gently closed for about two minutes to allow time for the medication to be absorbed into the eye. Although you may feel like blinking, you should try to avoid this. Blinking may squeeze the drop out of the eye and into the tear duct which leads into the nose. Squeezing the lids closed also may cause the drop to spill over onto the cheek. By gently closing the lids, the medication will remain in contact with the eye so that it can be absorbed.
3. Block the tear ducts with your thumb or index finger for two minutes as the eyelids are gently closed, so the flow of the drop and the tears into the nose can be avoided.
Note: Be sure that your eyes are closed while you block the tear ducts. Since tears normally flow from the surface of the eye into the tear ducts, a drop which is placed on the eye and mixes with tears will do the same. This is particularly important since the inside of the nose is like a sponge. It can readily absorb the drop into the blood, where it can then affect your heart, lungs and brain.