How to Put Eye Drops Correctly: Gap, Order and Common Mistakes

The short answer: wash your hands, tilt your head back, pull the lower lid down into a little pocket, let one drop fall in without the tip touching anything, then close the eye and press the inner corner for a minute or two. If you use more than one kind of drop, wait at least 5 minutes between them.

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Most people were never shown how to put eye drops in. They squeeze, miss, squeeze again, and half the bottle runs down their cheek. Wasted. For someone on daily glaucoma drops it can also mean the pressure inside the eye isn’t being controlled even though the bottle runs out right on time, so getting the technique right is a small skill with a big payoff, and it takes about a minute to learn.

How to put eye drops correctly, step by step

Think of the lower lid as a tiny cup: your job is to open the cup, drop the liquid in, and then stop it draining away before it has had time to work.

1. Wash your hands with soap and water for about 20 seconds and dry them. Dirty fingers are the commonest way germs reach the eye.
2. Check the bottle. Right drop, right eye, not past the expiry or the 4-week mark. Shake it if the label says “shake well”.
3. Take out contact lenses unless the label says the drop is safe with lenses.
4. Tilt your head back or lie flat. Look up at the ceiling.
5. Pull the lower lid down gently with one finger to make a pocket.
6. Hold the bottle about 2 to 3 cm above the eye and squeeze once. Aim for the pocket, not the black part of the eye.
7. Close the eye gently (don’t squeeze it shut and don’t blink hard) and press a fingertip on the inner corner, next to the nose, for 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Wipe away any spill with a clean tissue, cap the bottle, and wash your hands again.

Pressing the inner corner has a name. Punctal occlusion. The corner hides a tiny drain that leads down to the nose and throat, and when you block it with a fingertip more of the medicine stays in the eye and less gets swallowed, which is also why some people taste their eye drops (not a sign of doing it wrong, just a sign the drain is open).

Why one drop is enough

A standard drop is bigger than the space in front of your eye can hold, so if you put in two, the second one simply overflows or drains away and takes some of the first with it. Went in? Stop. If you missed completely (you felt it on your cheek, not in the eye), it’s fine to try one more time.

Using more than one drop: the gap and the order

Many people, especially those with glaucoma or after eye surgery, use two or three different bottles, and here the rule is simple: wait at least 5 minutes between different drops, because if you put them in back to back the second one rinses the first out before it has done its job.

Got a written order from your doctor? That wins.

Common mistakes people make

Touching the tip

The tip of the bottle is the part that must stay clean, because if it brushes your lashes, lid or fingers, germs can get into the bottle, grow there quietly and ride back into the eye with every drop you use afterwards. Keep a gap. Never rinse the tip under the tap.

Blinking hard straight after

Blinking pumps the drop out through the drain. Close gently. Wait.

Sharing bottles

One bottle, one person. Sharing eye drops is one of the easiest ways for conjunctivitis to jump through a household.

Keeping old bottles “just in case”

Once opened, most multi-use bottles should go in the bin after 4 weeks, even if half is left. Single-use vials are meant for one go, unless the label says you can reuse them within the day. Unopened bottles keep until the expiry date if stored as the label says.

Changing the schedule because the eye feels fine

Glaucoma drops don’t make you feel anything, and because the eye feels exactly the same with or without them, people slowly drift off them while the damage carries on in silence. Struggling with the schedule, the cost or side effects? Tell your eye doctor rather than quietly stopping. You’ll find more on why this matters in our guide to kala motia (glaucoma) and who needs testing.

Eye drops with contact lenses

Most medicated drops, and many lubricating drops that contain preservatives, are not meant to go in with lenses. The lens can soak up the preservative and hold it against the eye. Take lenses out first and wait around 15 minutes before putting them back, unless the label says the drop is lens-friendly. The full lens routine, including why tap water never goes near a lens, is in our contact lens care routine.

How to put eye drops in a child

Children squirm. Normal. Two methods work well:

• The lying down method: lay the child flat on a bed, ideally with a second adult to hold the head steady. Pull the lower lid down and drop into the pocket.
• The closed eye method: if the child won’t open the eye, lay them flat, put the drop in the inner corner while the eye is closed, then ask them to open. The drop rolls in on its own.

Keep it calm and quick, wrap a baby snugly in a sheet so the arms stay still, and offer a small reward afterwards so the next time is easier. Never put anything into a child’s eye that a doctor or pharmacist hasn’t advised for that child, and that includes surma, kajal, breast milk and rose water.

Handy tricks if your hands shake

Older people and anyone with arthritis or a tremor often find the bottle the hardest part, so rest the hand holding it on your forehead to steady it, chill the bottle briefly in the fridge if the label allows so you can feel the drop land, or ask a pharmacy about simple plastic aids that hold the bottle over the eye. Or ask family. That’s fine.

More step-by-step guides live in our Eye Care section.

Eye drop questions people ask most