How to give eye drops to a child: preparation for the procedure

How to properly put drops into a child's eyes?

First, we’ll learn how to instill medicine in a child aged 5-7 years. As a rule, at an older age he can do this independently under the supervision of an adult.

Step-by-step instructions include the following steps:

wash your hands thoroughly with soap;
Clean the child's eyes from purulent discharge, if any. If a crust forms, use an antiseptic recommended by your eye doctor;
prepare cotton wool or lint-free gauze swabs, which will be needed to remove excess medicine);
warm the bottle a little in your hands;
Place your child on the bed and place a pillow under his head. Perhaps he will be nervous and resist, so he needs to be distracted with something;
drop the medicine into the eye and blot the drops that leak onto your face with cotton wool.

After this, the child should lie still. Remember that you cannot use one bottle or one pipette to treat several people.

How to put drops in a child's eyes?

Most often, problems arise when it is necessary to put drops in the eyes of a child aged 3 to 7-8 years. They may become frightened and begin to resist. Children aged 8-10 years old, as a rule, are calmer about this procedure. Teenagers can apply eye drops on their own under adult supervision. In order to drop medicine into a child’s eyes, you need to do the following:

prepare cotton wool, gauze swabs, a bottle of medication, a pipette and antiseptics in case there is purulent discharge in the eyes;
wash your hands with soap and dry them thoroughly (wearing rubber gloves is not necessary);
warm the bottle in your hands for several minutes;
lay the little patient on the bed and drip the solution under the lower eyelid, pushing it away with your finger;
Use cotton to remove excess medication that has leaked from the eye.

If your child is fussy or afraid, distract him with something. After the solution is in the eyes, you need to make sure that the patient remains in a supine position for one or two minutes until the drops are distributed evenly over the cornea.

How to give drops to a newborn?

In general, the algorithm is no different from the procedure described above. It will be even easier with a baby, since he should not be afraid and will not resist. You can instill drops while your baby is sleeping. You need to move the lower eyelid and drop the solution under it.

Remember that you can only use medications prescribed by your doctor. You cannot use different medications at the same time. The causative agent of the infection may become very sensitive to the components of the solution, and this will complicate treatment. If you notice any unfavorable symptoms, you should definitely show your child to an ophthalmologist.

MagazinLinz.ru team

How to put eye drops correctly?

If a person has complaints related to vision, he needs to consult an ophthalmologist who will conduct the necessary diagnostics, make a diagnosis and prescribe appropriate eye drops. Unprofessional selection of medication is fraught with negative consequences - from relatively innocent irritation, increased lacrimation or dry eyes to more serious consequences - decreased visual acuity.

For example, if you complain of dryness, discomfort, tired eyes, redness, a feeling of sand, the ophthalmologist, after conducting an additional examination, may prescribe you so-called tear substitutes - eye drops created to replenish the lack of tears and restore its composition, changed during the development of the syndrome. dry eye", for infectious eye diseases (conjunctivitis, keratitis, etc.) - antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory eye drops, for glaucoma - drops that reduce intraocular pressure, for cataracts - drops with antioxidants and vitamins, etc. The choice of therapy depends on the specific diagnosis, concomitant diseases and contraindications for a particular person, but the rules for instilling prescribed eye drops are similar in most cases.

In order for instillation to be effective and safe, certain preparatory work must be carried out. First, wash your hands thoroughly under warm running water and soap and dry them

Before this, it is extremely important to check whether the drops have expired and whether the original factory packaging (the bottle or tube itself) is not damaged. If you have already used these drops before, it is important to make sure that the shelf life when opened and storage conditions have not been violated (the shelf life when opened and closed, as well as storage conditions are always indicated in the instructions for use of eye drops)

If the drops were stored in the refrigerator before use, then to make instillation more comfortable, you can hold the bottle in warm palms for several minutes.

If the doctor has prescribed several drops, then the interval between instillations should be at least 10 minutes. Otherwise, one product washes out the other, i.e. the drops that were instilled first may not have the desired therapeutic effect. If, in addition to drops, ointments are prescribed, they are added at the very end. Ointment placed in the conjunctival sac before using drops will prevent their absorption

It is also important to consider the features of the combined use of drops and contact lenses. Some eye drops can be instilled directly onto contact lenses (for example, Cationorm and Okutiarz), but most eye drops, gels and ointments can only be used after removing contact lenses; these restrictions are always specified in the instructions for use of the drug

If you bought the drug yourself (without consulting a doctor) or are taking a repeat course, it is especially important to strictly follow the instructions, use the drug only as indicated, strictly follow the method of application, dose and frequency of instillation, timing and storage of the drug

Instillation procedure

To carry out the procedure, the patient must take a stable position - lying or sitting on a chair with his head thrown back. If the patient instills the medicine himself, then you can sit in front of the mirror.

Few people know how to properly put drops into the eyes:

The bottle with the medicine is placed in the right hand with the dropper down at a height of 2-3 cm above the surface of the eye mucosa;
With your left hand, the lower eyelid is slightly pulled back, while a kind of “pocket” is formed between its inner side and the eyeball;
Using two fingers of your right hand, squeeze the bottle slightly, just enough to allow 1 drop to drop. Usually the required therapeutic effect is exactly 1 drop, but if you need to drip more, you need to take a break of 1-2 minutes. , otherwise the excess medicine will simply leak out;
After this, the eye is closed without squeezing the eyelids, and the pad of the index finger is placed on the inner corner of the eye to prevent the medicine from penetrating the nasolacrimal duct;
Use a napkin to remove excess drug, if any.

Before using the drug without a prescription, you need to find out where it is produced, whether the bottle with all its components is sealed, whether there are flakes or sediment, and whether there are instructions for it. After familiarization, the patient needs to know the exact number of drops to instill in the eyes, corresponding to his condition, unless otherwise recommended by the ophthalmologist. The procedure is simple; however, there are general rules for instilling eye drops:

During the procedure, hands should be clean, dry and warm.
When wearing contact lenses, remove them and put them on 30 minutes after the drug is administered.
Open the sealed packaging and prepare the device for use.
Take a reclining position in a chair while tilting your head back as far as it will go.
It is better to use a mirror to accurately hit the drops into the eyeball.
Heat the dropper bottle in your hand or in warm water. The temperature should be 36.6-36.8 degrees.
You can check the warmth of the medicine by placing 1 drop on the bend of your elbow.

To properly apply eye drops, you must follow the following hygiene rules:

Wash your hands with soap and then wipe dry with a towel; Unscrew the cap of the bottle; Tilt your head back, then carefully pull down the lower eyelid with your finger;

Look up and at this time instill the medicine into the conjunctival sac. It is advisable to instill the medicine closer to the bridge of the nose;

Close your eye and then gently pat it dry with a cotton swab.

A different swab is used for each eye.

Without opening your eyes, gently press your finger on the area of the inner corner of the eye. This will allow the medicine to work more effectively and reduce the risk of side effects.

Eye drop procedure

After instillation, it is advisable to keep your eyes closed for 2-3 minutes. This will prevent the medicine from leaking out, it will be better absorbed. Afterwards, you need to wash your hands thoroughly again.

How to put drops in the eyes of a small child

As a rule, it is difficult to apply eye drops to small children. This is due to the fact that they do not understand why this needs to be done. Therefore, you cannot do without an assistant.

Before instillation, try to swaddle the baby's arms and place him on the table so that he does not accidentally disturb you. Then one person should place their hand on the child's forehead and hold him in that position. This must be done so that the child does not accidentally jerk and injure himself.

Then you need to clean the eyes with a solution of furatsilin, this should be done extremely carefully. Afterwards, gently pull the eyelid down and drip the product. After application, allow the child to blink several times so that the product is evenly distributed throughout the entire cornea of the eye.

Gently wipe the child's eyes

How to bury

Now let's see how to put drops in a child's eyes:

Take a bottle, if necessary, check the expiration date of the drug;
The assistant holds the child's head and arms so that he does not kick. Be careful - one jerk of the head, and the dropper pipette with the drug can injure the mucous membrane;
Pull the lower eyelid of one eye down to open the conjunctival cavity;
Bring the inverted bottle to the eye, place the dropper hole directly above the conjunctival sac, this should be done at a short distance so as not to poke into the eye;
Apply 1-2 drops of the drug depending on the indications. To do this, you need to press the bottle (carefully so that more solution does not come out than necessary) or wait until the drop comes out on its own;
Repeat similar steps with the second eye.

If you drop more medicine than needed, remove the excess with a cotton ball or let it drain out on its own. “Streams” are removed with a cotton pad. Ask your child (if possible) to close their eyes briefly. Throw away the cotton pads immediately and do not use them again.

Children really don’t like burial; they cry, shake their heads, break out of their hands, and wave their arms and legs. If a child cries during and after the administration of drops, this is bad, since the active substances of the product will be washed away along with the tears. Try to keep “lakes” to a minimum - toys, fairy tales and other methods of motivation, taking into account the age of the child, will help.