How to give your child eye ointment

This page provides information on how to give your child eye ointment and how to look after the medicine.

1. Wash your hands.
2. Get your child into any of these positions to apply the eye ointment:
   • tilt your child’s head back
   • lay your child flat on their back
   • ask someone to hold your child in a safe position
   • wrap your baby or young child in a light blanket or sheet to keep his or her arms and legs still
3. Remove the top from the tube and throw away the plastic seal.
4. Gently pull down your child’s lower eyelid.

5. Apply a half-inch (1cm) strip of ointment inside the inner surface of your child’s lower eyelid.
6. Let go of their lower eyelid and ask your child to close their eyes for a few minutes.
7. Put the top back on the ointment tube.
8. After a few minutes, ask your child to blink a few times to make sure the whole of the eye is covered by the ointment.
9. Wipe away any excess with a clean tissue.

• Always check the expiry date of the medicine before giving it to your child.
• Keep the tube tightly closed in a cool, dark place according to the label.
• Read the instructions on the label and only use the ointment in the affected eye. If you are given a different tube for each eye, make sure you use the correct tube for each eye.
• Eye ointments should not be used more than four weeks after you first open the tube. This is because they can become dirty and infected. If you are giving your child eye ointment for a certain number of days, write the date you open the tube on the label so you will know when to throw it away.
• Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.