To effectively manage a disease, you must know how many times a day to take your prescribed treatment. How often should you take eye drop medications to be effective against glaucoma? In a short video by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Peter Shah, a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, explains why glaucoma eye drop use is prescribed at different intervals.*

‘How often will I need to take my eye drops?’

“That’s a good question,” says Shah. The answer depends on two basic factors.

• The type of glaucoma you have (open-angle, angle-closed, normal-tension, juvenile).
• The type of eye drops you’re taking.

Based on these factors:

• Some eye drops only need to be taken at bedtime.
• Other eye drops may be needed twice daily, as with breakfast and dinner.
• Yet other eye drops are needed three times a day, as with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Being consistent with your drops helps minimize eye pressure variation. Once administered, most eye drops follow a peak-and-valley pattern. It takes a while for the drops to take effect, and that effect will last a certain number of hours before another dose is needed. That’s why drops are prescribed for use once, twice, or three times a day.

It’s also not uncommon to be on more than one eye drop medication at the same time. Shah recommends setting phone reminders to alert you when each eye drop is needed. 

Eye drop tips

Glaucoma eye drop medications are often an essential part of a glaucoma treatment plan, explains the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF). To help you get the most from your regimen, the GRF offers tips on proper eye drop application.

• Begin by standing, sitting, or lying down with your head tilted backward. Place your index finger just below your lower eyelid and gently pull downward to create a pocket.
• Looking up, gently squeeze one eye drop into the pocket. Do not blink, wipe your eye, or let the bottle tip touch your eye or face.
• Close your eye for three (3) minutes without blinking to ensure absorption. To avoid medication draining into your system, lightly press your index finger and thumb on the inside corner of your closed eyes.

To overcome hand shaking, the GRF suggests approaching the eye from the side to rest the hand on the face, or wearing light wrist weights. If getting the drop into the eye is still an issue, try lying on your side with your eyes closed and placing a drop on the inner corner of your eye (next to the bridge of the nose). Slowly open your eye and the drop should roll in.

When taking more than one eye drop at a time, experts advise that it’s important to wait three to five minutes between applications.

*University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. (2022, April 21). Glaucoma: how often should I take my eye drops? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoxgx98g_Kg