An easy way to administer eye drops to kids

You would think that administering eye drops would be a piece of cake compared to trying to administer a thick, chalk-like antibiotic orally to a baby or a 3-year-old. As I recently rediscovered, having to give eye drops to a child can be…trying. I imagine it is like wrestling a squirrel and then trying to reason with that squirrel to please stay still for one minute. I think it is possible the squirrel would be more cooperative.

Truth. I am a registered nurse and I’ve seen and dealt with lots of wounds and all imaginable bodily fluids, but there is something about eyes that I find “icky”. Almost all nurses have something that gets them. What can I tell you, for me it happens to be eyes. So, in the last few months, I have found it challenging to administer 2 rounds of eye drops to my 3-year-old (the squirrel).

While we can all figure out how to properly administer eye drops, I found the instructions less than helpful. Shake the bottle, remove the cap, pull down on the child’s lower eyelid, squeeze a drop into the lower eyelid. Simple, right? And yet, not relevant when dealing with kids. I’ll admit to using a bit of bribery to entice a little cooperation from my threenager. A piece of chocolate goes a long way! But after 2 days of an all out struggle, and let me be clear that is 4 times a day, and too much chocolate-fueled bribery, I realized there had to be a better way. Besides, with such a squirmy wormy, I knew she wasn’t actually getting much of the medication that she needed to clear up her eye infection. After calling our pediatrician for suggestions, we decided to try a different approach which I am happy to share because it made life much easier for all of us!

First, my daughter’s stuffed animal, Lambie, had to get eye drops. I assisted and she administered them. Lambie did a great job, too. Next, it was my turn. I leaned my head back while my daughter carefully administered my imaginary eye drops. Finally, it was her turn and it worked like magic. So what made the difference aside from preparing her? I had her lay down on a pillow and close her eyes instead of trying to keep them open. Yes, that was the magic trick that made it so much easier. I administered the drop with her eye closed so that as soon as she opened it – the drop of medication was all there and absorbed.

It seems silly but it helped to take five extra minutes to “practice” versus spend 10 minutes trying to wrangle her to get the eye drops in properly. The eyelid closed technique worked fabulously for us, but I would always suggest checking with your physician first as opinions can vary.

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