Need tricks...how do I give my anxious 3y/o eyedrops???

[Kailey's mom]

DD has conjunctivitis in both eyes, along with a upper resp infection. I'm supposed to give her eye drops 4x/day. Problem is, it takes 2 of us to restrain her, to even attempt to get the drops in.. and I'm not even sure they go in her eyes. She is strong, and fights hard against the drops. There is no reasoning with her, she has sensory issues. Anyway, is there a trick to this? Does anyone knows any alternatives to getting rid of conjunctivitis? dd looks aweful, her eyes are so swollen, and are a lovely shade of purple-ish blue

[Kailey's mom]

bumping..ideas'?

[LaLaLaLa]

I hate having a dropper coming toward my eyeball; even as an adult it makes me edgy.

Have you tried getting the drops in from the sides? Have her curl up on her side and then either drip them into the outer side of her eye (so she doesn't have to look at them coming) or, maybe even easier, drip them onto the inner edge of her nose, then have her roll onto her back so they'll slide into her eyes.

Good luck; eye drops are the worst!

[beadmama]

I HATED getting eye drops done as a kid until my mom finally found a trick that worked. I still do this today when self administering. Have her lay down or tilt her head back and close her eyes. Put the drops in the inside corner (tear duct) and have her open her eyes and roll her head down so they just roll in.

For me it was the anticipation of the drop going in. Kinda like when someone holds a finger right at your forehead but does not touch it, kwim? Closing her eyes will help as she won't have to see the dropper coming at her.

Hope it works for you! My mom hated giving me eye drops because we wasted so many with my fighting.

[Tumble Bumbles]

Can you do it while she is sleeping really quickly? My child sleeps like a rock, I could give her a tattoo in her sleep If you got the eyedrops warmish like body temp, then real quick, pop, pop in each eye, hopefully she would just stay asleep.