You're Holding Your Eye Drops Wrong – What Makes Ophthalmology Trials So Challenging?

By Jennifer Dennis-Wall, Ph.D.

Recently, one of our resident experts in ophthalmology, Ignacio Handal, gave a training for some of our current studies with a focus on which pitfalls to avoid specifically in ophthalmology trials. He dished out many fun facts and eye-opening insights.

Compliance is difficult enough to achieve for any medication, and remembering to take eye drops on top of oral medications is an easily forgettable extra step. Only half of glaucoma patients are compliant with treatment regimens, and that proportion falls further as the number of other prescribed medications increases. Eye drops are also uncomfortable (who wants to hold their eye open while they pour in a foreign liquid?). They can also be annoying and troublesome to administer, if the method is to try to hold the bottle steady while dangling it over your eye, especially if tremors are involved. But something many people don’t know is that the bottles are designed to rest on the bridge of your nose! This way, hand-eye coordination is less of an issue, and you sure don’t want to miss. Some of these eye drop medications are upwards of $600 per tiny bottle.