Glaucoma UK launches new guide

Glaucoma UK has launched a new step-by-step guide to help people use eye drops.

Eye drops are a common treatment for eye diseases like glaucoma. But if you find putting eye drops in tricky, you’re not alone. Questions about eye drops are among the top three reasons people call the Glaucoma UK helpline; they’re a really common concern. Help is at hand in a new ‘Easy read: Eye drops’ guide from Glaucoma UK.

Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve. It’s usually caused by high eye pressure. Glaucoma is usually asymptomatic, which means you wouldn’t know if you had it until the irreversible damage to your sight has taken place.  The best way to keep your eyes healthy is to attend regular free eye tests. High street opticians have all the equipment needed to test for the early signs of glaucoma and will refer you to an eye clinic if they have any concerns. Many routine health checks have been on the backburner during the pandemic but for World Glaucoma Week this week, get an eye test booked at your local high street optician.

If glaucoma is picked up early, treatment can prevent or slow down further damage to the optic nerve but it can’t repair it. Eye drops are a common treatment for glaucoma. They need to be used properly every day, usually for life.

So it’s really important that if you’re told to take eye drops you feel comfortable using them. Some people struggle because of the design of the eye drops bottle. Others don’t know how best to get the drop into their eye. We all know how busy eye care professionals are, they don’t always have time to show you how to use your eye drops. Plus, there’s so much information to take in at an eye clinic appointment that nobody can remember it all. Even if you’ve been using eye drops for a while, you might not be doing it in the best way or a simple change to the eye drops might throw your tried and trusted method. There are lots of people you can ask for help—pharmacists, nurses, eye clinic liaison officers (ECLOs) and others—but it’s also great to have a simple written guide to use whenever you need it.

Glaucoma UK’s new ‘Easy read: Eye drops’ guide gives simple, easy to understand advice on how to put in eye drops. It also answers common questions about eye drops: When should you put your drops in if you take more than one type? What should you do if the drop misses your eye? What about side effects? These are just some of the many questions it answers. It can’t answer every question but does answer the most common ones and tells you where to get more help. If you still have questions, you can contact Glaucoma UK’s helpline by calling 01233 64 81 70 or emailing helpline@glaucoma.uk (this link will take you away from our website).

So, if you use eye drops, or help other people to use them, take a look at the new guide. You can download it or order copies from glaucoma.uk/easy-read-eye-drops (this link will take you away from our website). Whether you’re new to using eye drops or are a long time user, you might be surprised what you learn.

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