How to Instil Eye drops- Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

7/28/2019 How to Instil Eye drops- Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-How to Instil Eyedrops: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram Page 1

HOW TO INSTILL EYE DROPS

Everyone of us, at some or other time gets an occasion to instill eye drops. People with glaucoma

need to instill eye drops everyday, 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 instilation 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 dayssince its 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 theeyes. It is necessary for your hands to be clean so as not to infect the eyes or add any dirt.


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3. Shake the bottle well if required. Most prescription eye drops are in a suspensionsolution, 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 andforth 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 infront of a mirror and bend your head backwards.


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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 theentire 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.


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Tips & Warnings

If you are putting in more than one kind of eye drop, wait 10 minutes before putting in thesecond 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 backof 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 tobe instilled. You can also pretend to instil 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 torestrain their arms.

6. Work as quickly and calmly as you can - this minimises the child's distress.


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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:

Its similar to the instillation of eye drops.

Ask the patient to look up, and evert the lower eyelid to ensure correct placement of theeye ointment.

Taking care not to touch the eye, hold the applicator just above the eye and deliver a lineof 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.

(Thanks for google images for providing me the sources of images)


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How to Instil Eye drops- Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram