Tips for getting eye drops into 2 yr old?

[Bean606]

DS woke up with what looked like pink eye on Saturday. The dr. called in a prescription and told us to put two drops in each eye 3 times a day. Good luck with that. DS screams, squirms everywhere, and squeezes his eyes shut, and it is impossible to know with all that commotion whether the drops have actually made it into his eyes. Yesterday we only did it twice, and I haven't tried yet today. Either I get nothing in, or I feel like i have squirted the whole bottle in his eye in my effort to count drops! Has anyone BTDT and can offer tips on how to do this?

[egoldber]

If I have to do eye drops by myself I put Amy on the floor (like I'm changing her diaper) and use my legs to hold her, one over her arms and one over her legs. Your legs are much stronger than your arms ;) and that way I have both hands free for the drops.

[Gena]

We have to do eye drops at least twice a year (with multiple applications each time) for DS's vision appointments and it is never easy. DS is very strong and it is now a 2 person job for us. Here is what we do:

We lay DS down on our bed and turn on the ceiling fan. (The fan is an attempt to distract him. It really doesn't work, but we always try it anyway.) Hubby holds DS's arms over his head while I straddle DS's chest. I pry each eye open and put in the drops while Hubby tries to hold his arms and head still. It usually takes a couple of tries, but I am always able to get the drops in. DS screams and fights the whole time.

It's definately not fun, but we manage to get it done. I have a few times had to put the drops in by myself, but it was a lot more dificult.

Good luck!

[Globetrotter]

We have to do this a lot as ds has seasonal allergies that result in allergic conjunctivitis!

We somehow put a drop in the inside corner of his eye. When he blinks a few times, it goes in. This is less painful than trying to pry his eyes open so he doesn't mind it so much. The trick is to make sure it goes in, so they have to stay down and let gravity do its job. The fan is a good idea.

Kris

[momma_boo]

What I did when dd had pink eye a few mos ago - have dd lie down on the floor and close her eyes. put the drops into the inner corner of her eyes (close to the bridge of her nose). Then have her open her eyes slowly and blink a few times (while still laying down).

You may still have to do some holding down so he doesn't just turn his head and let it drip everywhere.

Good luck!

[ritacheetah]

I had to do drops on 4 YO DD last week - talk about squriming. She sleeps like a rock so I actually ended up doing them while she slept. She had no idea. So maybe you can do them while he's napping and then after he goes to bed. At least that's twice a day that will be easier.

Good luck!

[cdlamis]

[quote=momma_boo]What I did when dd had pink eye a few mos ago - have dd lie down on the floor and close her eyes. put the drops into the inner corner of her eyes (close to the bridge of her nose). Then have her open her eyes slowly and blink a few times (while still laying down).

This exactly what we do now. A friend gave us this tip and it works wonders! Both my kids got pink eye for the first time and putting eye drops in was horrendous until learning about this method. Wish I would have known earlier.

Daniella

[almostsane]

DS has seasonal allergies and we have to do the drops at leat 3 times a year, sometimes more. We do the 'close eyes, in the corner thing'. The main thing I wanted to offer to you is this, Why are they giving you a prescription that is 3 times a day? We use a prescription that is 1 drop 1 time a day per eye. It works wonders for pink eye. I would ask my ped for one that is less times a day.

[Bean606]

Thanks everyone! I tried the corner of the eye trick, and although it was still traumatic, it was not as bad as trying to pry his eyes open!!!