How to Use Otic Drops

Preparing:
1. Gather the materials you would need: the otic drops you are to administer, tissue or a piece of
cloth to wipe away excess drops, and alcohol or hand sanitizer to clean your hands prior to
administration.

2. Wash your hands

thoroughly
with soap and water. However, you may also use alcohol or hand sanitizer as a substitute or in
addition to washing your hands.
3. Warm the ear drops simply by holding it in your hands for one to two minutes. The purpose of
this is to minimize discomfort for the patient caused by cold liquid added directly into the ear.

4. Remove the cap of the bottle and place the cap

on a clean and dry surface to avoid
contamination.
 5. Ensure that the dropper is clean. For ear drops with separate droppers, ensure that the dropper is
clean, uncracked, and unchipped. This is to avoid contamination and to ensure an even dose since
chipped droppers produce larger drops than intended.

Administration:
1. Position the patient’s head in a way that the ear is facing upward. When administering the drops
to yourself, it may be easier to sit down or stand upright and tilt your head to the side. When
administering the drops to others, it would be best to let the person lie down on their side.

2. For adults, you would want to gently pull

the upper ear upward and back.

3. For children, you would want to gently pull the lower part of the ear down and back.
4. If the bottle has a separated dropper, draw some of the mediation into the dropper. For ear drops
with their own dropper tip, you would simply need to slowly point the dropper tip into the ear and
gently squeeze.
5. Squeeze sufficient amount of drops into the ear. Take note of instructions given by your doctor,
most especially when it comes to the number of drops and for how long would you allow the
medication to sit within the ear.

6. Gently pull the patient’s earlobe up and down to maximize the flow of the drops within the ear
and keep the head tilted for about two to five minutes, otherwise refer to the doctor’s instructions.

7. Wipe away excess drops or overflow with a

clean cloth or tissue.
8. Wipe away excess medicine on the tip of the dropper, if any.

9. Put the cap back on to the bottle and make

sure to tightly close.
 10. Wash off excess medication that came in contact with your hands, if any. Then, store the bottle as
directed within the label or package insert.

Patient counselling:

 Don’t use the dropper when cracked, chipped, or dirty- this is to minimize contamination and
ensure even doses per drop. Dirty droppers would contaminate the medication, and may even lead
to infections when still used. Cracked or chipped droppers would produce larger drops than
intended.
 Don’t allow the dropper tip to come in direct contact with the patient’s ear, skin, any unclean
surface. This to ensure that the tip is completely clean at all times to minimize contamination and
the risk of infections.
 When warming the drops, bathing or submerging the entire bottle into warm or hot water isn’t
necessary. This might simply make the contents too hot and even more uncomfortable for the
patient. Depending on the drops, submerging it into hot water may even damage its contents.
 Don’t share ear drops with anyone else. This is to minimize the risk of infection.
 Ear drops may introduce burn-like feeling or stings when applied, this isn’t harmful and most of
the time not a cause of concern. However, if discomfort persists for 10-15 minutes, call your
doctor.

Reference:

Healthline. (2016). How to Use Ear Drops. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/general-use/how-to-use-ear-drops