Many patients with glaucoma will be prescribed eye drops as part of their treatment. Follow these simple steps for using your drops.
- First, wash your hands thoroughly and dry them well
- Gently shake your bottle of eyedrops before removing the cap
- Using your index finger, pull down the bottom eyelid of the affected eye. Holding the bottle in your other hand, gently squeeze one drop into the space between the lower eyelid and the outer corner of your eye
- As soon as the drop is in, close your eye and immediately use your index finger to press firmly in the inner corner of your eye. This prevents the drop going straight down the tear passage into your nose and throat. Apply pressure for one minute
- Repeat the process with your other eye, if this is part of your treatment regime
To prevent infection, make sure that the tip of the bottle does not touch your eye or anything else.
If you take more than one type of eye drops in the same eye, you should wait five minutes between using different drops. This is to avoid washing one drop out with another.
Although you might feel nervous or find that your hands shake at first, do keep trying as you will soon get used to putting the drops in.
It is important to let your care team know if you're struggling to put your eye drops in. They may be able to help or suggest other options.
Watch our glaucoma video playlist
You may be interested in our YouTube playlist, where you can watch our experts talk about a range of issues affecting glaucoma patients and introduce the service here at UHB.
Last reviewed: 21 April 2022
