Glaucoma patients overrate their eyedrop skills

Although more than 90 percent of patients taking ocular medication reported feeling confident about their eyedrop instillation technique, less than one third actually demonstrated adequate skills, researchers report in the Archives of Ophthalmology.

“A large component of adherence to a medical regimen,” investigator Dr. Alan L. Robin told Reuters Health, “is the ability to adequately execute the proper ingestion or instillation of a medication. Physicians often do not dwell on this aspect as they think that one does not have to educate a patient on how to take a pill. However, the proper instillation of an eye drop into the eye is far different than taking a pill.”

Robin went on to point out that apart from it being essential to get a drop into the eye, it’s also important to avoid release of multiple drops, which leads to waste, increased costs and possible inadequate dosing should the medication run out prematurely.

- Full Story - »»»    

Natural Compound Stops Diabetic Retinopathy   Lap-Band Weight-Loss Surgery Can Reverse Metabolic Syndrome in Obese Teens   Device shows promise for type of cerebral palsy   Say no to vodka, president tells Russians   Weight-bearing exercise key for bone health   Biomarker of breathing control abnormality associated with hypertension and stroke   Harvard scientists solve mystery about why HIV patients are more susceptible to TB infection   Report: Prostate cancer screening has yet to prove its worth   Retinopathy of prematurity diagnosis time significantly reduced using telemedicine   Who goes abroad for fertility treatment and why?   New tool finds best heart disease and stroke treatments for patients with diabetes   New, less invasive genetic test greatly improves pregnancy rates in older women with poor prognosis