This is going to be the best eye drop tutorial video you've ever seen
Trust me
so you've been prescribed eye drops and you want to use it properly
but it's going everywhere well not to worry because Abraham the pharmacist has
got you covered and I'm gonna make you an eye drop pro at the end of this video
we're first going to learn how to use our eye drop but make sure you watch the
full video because at the end of it I've got some really useful pro tips for everyone to follow
okay so the first thing you do is you get ready and you
wash your hands with warm soapy water you're about to touch around your eye
and the last thing you want is an eye infection because nobody wants that
next check the expiry on the bottle and make sure that it hasn't been open for
longer than it's meant to be also shake the eye drop bottle if you're meant to
now all this information is in the information leaflet lastly open the lid
and pop it on a clean tissue because the surfaces could potentially be a bit
dirty now we're ready so let's move on to the fun bit first sit comfortably in
front of a mirror or if you prefer do it lying down then tilt your head back next
form a fist and pull your bottom eyelid with your knuckles so it forms a little
pocket, the pocket will prevent the drop from falling out now the fist is
critical for the wrist knuckle technique because it's like the foundation so
we're able to balance our more dominant hand holding the eye drop and
administer it safely now let's observe it
look upwards and rest your dominant eye drop hand on your knuckles so the eye drop is above the
eye but do not let the tip touch your eye, finger or any other surfaces next gently
squeeze one drop into your eye then close your eye and gently press softly
on the inside corner of the eye by the nose with a finger for one to two
minutes this is called a punctum hold by performing a punctum hold it's going to
reduce the rate at which the eye drop flows down the tear duct into the throat
so you're gonna have more of the eye drop where it's meant to be so hopefully
it'll be more effective lastly screw the lid back on and store away now you
know the basics but here are my pro tips that are going to take you to the next level
tip 1 if you administer a different eye drop into the same eye
wait at least five minutes before you do so now the
eye can only hold a certain amount of liquid in there so if you administer
another eye drop is just gonna flush down the tear duct into your throat and it's a waste of your medication
tip 2 if you have to administer an eye drop
and an eye ointment then administer the eye drop first wait five minutes and then
administer the eye ointment don't do it the other way around because eye ointments are very thick
tip 3 if you wear contact lenses never put in your
eye drops whilst you're wearing them unless you're told so by a clinician so
take your contact lenses out put in your eye drops and wait 15 minutes before you
put your contact lenses back in now contact lens wearers should avoid using
eye drops which contain preservatives because they'll damage your contact
lenses so speak to your pharmacist about finding an alternative eye drop which
doesn't have any preservatives in them I told you these tips are pro tips
tip 4 when you open a new bottle of eye drop right down the expiry date on the bottle
or on the box and then read the information leaflet to find out exactly
how long it lasts once opened and write down the new expiry date on it too so you don't
go over it this also applies for single unit eye drops that come in a sachet or
the pouches so once they're open they also have a limited expiry date so check
that too and if you use your eye drop after this date and I'm afraid you're at
risk of an eye infection so please don't lastly if you're still struggling to
administer your eye drops or to squeeze the bottle because it's quite a common
problem then speak your pharmacist as they can recommend various different
devices that can really help with this congratulations you are now an eye drop pro
I hope you find this video useful and as always please help spread the
word to friends and family if you think they'll also benefit from this video
hey guys thanks for watching this week's video make sure to click that like
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so take your eye drops out put your eye drops in, did I say take your eye drops out?
trust me (Telephone ringing sound) good timing on that
and you want to use it properly but it's going, if it comes out