A patient presents with a red, swollen eye and is diagnosed with bacterial conjunctivitis. The healthcare provider prescribes an antibiotic eye drop to be instilled in the affected eye. As a medical assistant, you are instructed to administer the first dose and educate the patient on proper instillation technique. What steps will you include in your demonstration to ensure proper administration of the eye drops?
Have the patient lie down, ask them to close their eyes tightly, and then place the drop on the inner canthus so it will seep into the eye upon opening, ensuring minimal discomfort.
Instruct the patient to look directly at the dropper and instill the drop directly onto the cornea for immediate absorption.
Wash hands before the procedure, avoid touching the dropper tip to any surface, tilt the patient's head back, pull down the lower eyelid to form a pocket, instill the drop into the pocket without touching the eye, and then press gently on the nasolacrimal duct for a minute to prevent systemic absorption.
Apply pressure to the upper eyelid and quickly insert multiple drops to ensure an adequate dose is received in case the patient blinks.