How to Administer Ear Drops
Ear drops are typically prescribed for swimmer's ear, wax removal, antibiotic ear infection treatment and post-surgery ear care. At some point, you may need to administer ear drops to yourself or someone else. Using ear drops is more involved than simply dropping a solution into an ear. There are safety considerations and proper procedures to prevent injury, but overall administering ear drops can be done quickly and easily.
Instructions
-
-
1
Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial hand soap to prevent further infection in the ear, and shake the bottle to be sure that the medicine is evenly dispersed throughout the solution.
-
2
Tilt your head, or tell the person receiving the treatment to tilt his head, so that the problem ear is facing up.
-
-
3
Hold the nozzle of the bottle directly over the ear canal opening. If you are administering the drops on yourself, you may need a mirror to be sure you have the nozzle correctly positioned.
-
4
Lightly squeeze the bottle until the prescribed number of drops fall into the ear, and leave your head (or the other person's head) tilted for two or three minutes, to allow the solution to run completely into the ear.
-
5
Resume a normal head position, and dry any solution from around the outside of the ear with a clean towel.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Do not allow the nozzle of the dropper to touch anything. Keep it capped when it is not in use. Droppers that are separated from the bottle should be sanitized between uses and kept in a protective plastic bag. Do not insert any object directly into your ear, as you may cause severe injury and possible hearing loss.
