Putting eye drops in your child’s eye

Eye Drop Administration for Children

Before putting eye drops in, clean your hands thoroughly. Always be careful not to touch the dropper on the eye or surrounding skin, as this could hurt the eye or contaminate the drops. Do not worry if the occasional drop is missed.
 
For older children, ask your child to sit in a comfortable chair with their head tilted backwards and their chin pointing upwards towards the ceiling. Ask them to open their eyes and look up towards their eyebrows. Gently pull down the lower lid and place the drop into the pocket between the lower lid and the eye.
 
If this is difficult, you can ask your child to close their eyes gently and place the drop on the skin at the corner of the eyelids. Your child can then open their eye, or you can gently open the lids using your index finger and thumb, allowing the drop to roll into the eye. This method works best with your child lying flat.
 
Where possible, older children who need long-term eye drops should be encouraged to learn to put the drops in themselves. With clean hands, they should hold the bottle in one hand and use the other hand to gently pull down the lower lid while looking back up towards the eyebrows. They should lean their head right back to look up at the ceiling, rest one hand on the other to steady themselves, and squeeze the drop into the eye. It may take some practice to get the drop in the right place.
 
Babies and young children often do not understand why they need eye drops and may wriggle or keep their eyes closed. In these situations, you may need to use techniques to keep them still. If this is done quickly, the drops can be given safely with as little upset as possible.
 
Ideally, ask another adult to help. Get your child to lie down or recline in someone’s arms if they are very young. Swaddling your child in a blanket can help keep their arms and legs out of the way.
 
 Allow your child to close their eyes, then use one of two techniques. You can gently open the upper and lower lids using your thumb and index finger and place a drop directly into the eye. If this is difficult, lay your child flat and place a couple of drops on the skin at the inner corner of the eye. Depending on their age, ask them to blink several times so the drops run into the eye, or gently part the lids to allow the drops to flow in.
 
If you are alone, you can still give the drops safely. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and slightly apart. Lay your child between your legs so their head is kept still between your thighs, with their arms tucked under your knees. This allows you to use both hands to put the drops in quickly and safely.
 
For children of any age, punctal occlusion can be used to reduce the amount of medication draining into the nose and lower the risk of side effects. Immediately after putting the drops in, place your index finger firmly over the inner corner of the eyelids for five to ten seconds. Using these techniques, you should be able to put eye drops into your child’s eye safely and effectively, regardless of their age.