Wash your hands first. Tilt your head back, gently pull down your lower eyelid to make a small pocket and let one drop fall into it. Close your eye gently and press lightly on the inner corner, next to your nose, for one to two minutes. This keeps more of the drop in the eye.
If you use more than one kind of drop, wait about five minutes between them, and put any ointment in last. Do not let the tip of the bottle or tube touch your eye, eyelashes or fingers.
Take contact lenses out before using drops unless the drop is made for use with lenses, and wait about fifteen minutes before putting them back in.
Check the label for how long a bottle may be used once it is opened, and throw it away after that. Never share eye drops. Finish a prescribed course even if your eye feels better, and use antibiotic or steroid drops only when they have been prescribed for you.
If an eye becomes more red, swollen or itchy after you start a new drop, stop using it and contact us. Your optometrist or pharmacist will gladly show you how to use your drops.