How (and why) to put in eye drops
Eye drops are a great innovation. Sometimes, your eyes are dry because of allergies or cold season, or you could just use a little moisture in a cold, dry room. Eye drops are your friends here, and you have your choice between simple saline solution and medicated drops that your eye care professional prescribes for specific conditions.
Let's get your technique for putting in eye drops down first
Basically, everybody thinks they know how to put drops in their eyes, but it's not clear why. It isn't as if anybody teaches this in school, and the proper technique is actually not entirely intuitive. We're assuming you've already taken out your contact lenses if you use them. After that, there's a seven-step process:
- Wash your hands: Clean hands are step one for basically everything you're going to do with your eyes. Using warm water and soap, give your hands a good cleaning and dry them with a clean towel before moving to the next step.
- Tilt your head back: Gravity is your friend here. Tilting back your head puts your eyes directly under the drops, which can go directly onto the white part of your eyes (the sclera), rather than dribbling out onto your cheeks.
- Pull down your lower eyelid: The drops need to get directly onto the sclera, and gently tugging your lower eyelid down exposes as much of this part of the eye as you reasonably can. Don't pull hard, and definitely don't pull outward; instead, give the lower eyelid a firm downward press with your finger.
- Look up: Looking upward directs your pupils away from where the drops will be falling. You aren't really trying to get the drops onto the centers of your eyes, which can be really uncomfortable, but just onto the less-sensitive whites. There's a lot of blank space under your pupils, which is exposed if you look upward.
- Add the drops: Go ahead and add the drops now. Holding the dropper a few inches over the eye, gently squeeze out one drop at a time until two or three have come out and made good contact with the eye surface. If you're in the right position, you should feel the liquid sitting there like tears that haven't run off yet.
- Close your eyes: Slowly let your eyes close. Don't blink too fast, or you're likely to squeeze out the drops and just have a few streaks on your cheeks. Your eyelids naturally spread tears over your eyes every time you blink, so slowly closing and opening your eyes right after the drops go in helps spread them around to get the best effect.
- Press the corner of the eye (gently!): Tears naturally drain through a duct at the inside corner, next to the nose. You want to gently press this spot (sometimes it makes a squeaky noise when you do this) to prevent the artificial tears running out of your eyes all at once. Don't do it too much — just enough to keep the drops over your eyes for a few minutes.
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Common eye drop mistakes (and how to avoid them, of course)
So, now you know how to do eye drops right, but it's also helpful to know how to do it wrong. Avoid these common mistakes when you're putting drops in and see if you don't get much better results with your drops.
Blinking the drops away
We told you to blink after you put the drops in but be careful with that. If you blink too hard or too fast, you'll basically squeeze the drops out before they can do their work.
Touching the eye with the dropper
This should go without saying, but people still get careless and do it. As a rule, you shouldn't put anything in contact with your sensitive eye, and the dropper is no exception here. Make sure the tip of the dropper is at least an inch or two away from your eye.
Using too much or too little fluid
For most purposes, one or two drops is enough. Using too much fluid is just a waste because most of it will run out, while not using enough means you're not getting the full benefit of using eye drops in the first place.
Getting the most out of your eye drops
Eye drops seem like a simple thing on the surface, and they mainly are. You have to use them right, though. And of course, always follow the advice of your eye care professional. You can find a professional near you and get an eye exam online.
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FAQs
How often should you use eye drops?
Use over-the-counter eye drops whenever you feel the need. If your drops are medicated, ask your eye care professional and follow their advice.
Can you use someone else's eye drops?
There's probably no harm in borrowing another person's over-the-counter drops if they're just saline and don't have medication in them. Otherwise, only use your own prescribed drops and don't share.
Can you use eye drops with contacts?
Maybe yes. Check the drops' packaging for the words "safe for use with contact lenses."