Eye Ointments/Gels
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Avoid touching the tip of the tube against your eye or anything else - the medication and its container must be kept clean.
- Holding the tube between your thumb and forefinger, place it as near to your eyelid as possible without touching it.
- Brace the remaining fingers of that hand against your face.
- Tilt your head forward slightly.
- With your index finger, pull the lower eyelid down to form a pocket.
- Squeeze a ribbon of ointment or gel into the pocket made by the lower eyelid.
- Blink your eye gently; then close your eye for 1 to 2 minutes.
- With a tissue, wipe any excess ointment or gel from the eyelids and lashes. With another clean tissue, wipe the tip of the tube clean.
- Replace and tighten the cap right away.
- Wash your hands to remove any medication.
REMEMBER:
- Follow directions carefully
- Do not miss doses
- Your eyesight may be cloudy after using the ointment or gel Store medications out of reach of children
Adapted, with permission, from the Michigan Pharmacists Association's Patient Education Program. Illustration reproduced, with permission, from the Atlas of Primary Eyecare Procedures, Appleton Lange, Norwalk, CT, 1997.
Last Updated: December 2006