A 78-year-old patient with glaucoma who has limited dexterity asks how to improve eye drop administration. What is the most appropriate action?

A 78-year-old patient with glaucoma who has limited dexterity asks how to improve eye drop administration. What is the most appropriate action?

• A. Sell the patient an appropriate eye drop dispenser that can be used to improve administration
• B. Provide a training session on hand hygiene
• C. Switch to a different eye drop brand
• D. Recommend using a dropper tip extension

Answer: (D)

When someone has limited dexterity, the biggest hurdle to eye drop use is the manual effort and control needed to squeeze the bottle and aim without spilling or touching the eye. A dropper tip extension changes how the drop is delivered by lengthening the reach of the bottle tip. This lets the patient hold the bottle farther away from the eye and apply a single drop with gentler pressure, improving aim, reducing spill, and lowering the risk of contaminating the bottle or touching the eye. It directly addresses the practical barrier to self-administration and supports safer, more independent use. Other options may help with safety or routine, but they don’t tackle the core difficulty of dexterity in the moment of instillation as effectively. For example, training on hand hygiene improves safety, and changing brands might alter drop properties, but neither resolves the mechanical challenge of delivering a drop with limited hand strength. A dropper tip extension is the most direct aid to improve the actual act of administration.

When someone has limited dexterity, the biggest hurdle to eye drop use is the manual effort and control needed to squeeze the bottle and aim without spilling or touching the eye. A dropper tip extension changes how the drop is delivered by lengthening the reach of the bottle tip. This lets the patient hold the bottle farther away from the eye and apply a single drop with gentler pressure, improving aim, reducing spill, and lowering the risk of contaminating the bottle or touching the eye. It directly addresses the practical barrier to self-administration and supports safer, more independent use.

Other options may help with safety or routine, but they don’t tackle the core difficulty of dexterity in the moment of instillation as effectively. For example, training on hand hygiene improves safety, and changing brands might alter drop properties, but neither resolves the mechanical challenge of delivering a drop with limited hand strength. A dropper tip extension is the most direct aid to improve the actual act of administration.