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How to apply eye drops

1. Wash your hands before applying the drops.

2. Sit up straight; tilt your head back only slightly.

3. Look at the ceiling with your eyes only.

4. Pull down on your lower lid with a finger of the hand not holding the eyedrop bottle. This exposes the inner surface of the eyelid. With this technique, the eyeball is away from the area of the eyedrop application, and there is less chance of accidentally damaging your cornea.

5. Place one drop inside the lower eyelid. The eye is capable of holding only about ½ of a drop at a time.

6. If you are not sure that a drop got in, keep applying drops until you are sure that a drop did get in.

7. Most of the eyedrop exits the eye through a duct system and into the nose. One way of decreasing this exit is for you to press a finger against where the eyelids meet (near the nose) for 3 to 5 minutes. When you blink, the eyedrop is pumped out of the eye; keeping your eyes gently closed stops this.

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