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Administration of medication by ophthalmic route


Preparation and delivery of ophthalmically prescribed medications and evaluation of patient response.

Objectives:

– Administer prescribed medication to the patient ophthalmically for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. – Educate the patient and family on the therapeutic regimen.

Equipment:

– Batea.

– Material: – Prescribed medication. – Medical treatment sheet with prescribed medication. – Non-sterile disposable gloves. – Sterile gauze. – Waste bag. – Syringe. – Physiological saline solution. – Dressings. – See eye wash procedure material. – Anti-allergic plaster.

– Ophthalmic dressings. – Nursing records.

Procedure:

– Perform hand washing. – Follow general rules in the administration of medication. – Prepare the medication. – Preserve the patient’s privacy. – Inform the patient. – Ask the patient and family for their collaboration. – Determine the patient’s knowledge of the medication and understanding of the method of administration. – Put on gloves. – Use each ophthalmic drug individually, labeling the container with the patient’s name and date of opening. Use a bottle for each eye. – Place the patient in a seated or supine position with the neck in slight hyperextension. – Instruct the patient to look upwards. – Perform eye hygiene. – Discard the first drop or first portion of the ointment before instilling the treatment. – Instill the medication into the conjunctival sac.

Apply the medication:

a) Eye drops: instill the prescribed number of drops in the center of the lower conjunctival sac fundus and instruct the patient to close the eyes. With a gauze squeeze the tear duct for 30 seconds. To prevent overflow into the nasal passages and pharynx. b) Ointment : apply a thin bead of ointment on the conjunctiva along the inner edge of the lower eyelid, from the inner corner to the outer corner. Instruct the patient to keep the eye closed. – Wipe off excess medication and secretions with sterile gauze from the inner to the outer corner. – Place ophthalmic dressing if necessary. – Leave the patient in a comfortable position. – Collect the material. – Remove gloves. – Wash hands. – Record: medication administered, dose, route, date and time, incidents and patient’s response.

Observations:

– The drug should be at room temperature before administration. – Regarding eye drops, their expiration period once opened is 1 month. When the treatment is multiple, with different eye drops, the administration of each one of them should be done at least 5 minutes apart.

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