Is it Okay to Share Eye Drops?

A funny thing happened in our family a few weeks ago. Two of our members contracted pink eye (conjunctivitis) and decided to share the antibiotic drops. One would get better, but continue using the drops, while the other would flare up. This back and forth ping-pong match continued for almost two full weeks. Until one day, I saw one of the red-eyed sufferers insert his eye drops. I immediately identified the problem.

He was letting the dropper touch his eye!

Yikes!

Germs are fascinating little creatures, especially in the viral variety. And, they like to attach to stuff. So, when that plastic tip of the eye drop bottle touches your eye, it is exposed to the virus and then becomes contaminated. Thus, the next person to use the bottle is just injecting those little bugs right into their eye.

If you use any eye drops (say from your saline solution, your lubricating drops, or perhaps your glaucoma medication) it’s important to make sure that you don’t allow that bottle tip to touch your eye. Or, if you do accidentally touch your eye, check with your doctor on how to proceed.

And one thing is for sure (that my family discovered the hard way!), you should never share any type of eye drops, just as you shouldn’t share your make-up.

Bacteria are kind of like bunnies. They reproduce themselves very quickly. So, let’s say you accidentally allow the tip of those contact lens’ moistening drops to touch your eyeball. And, let’s just say that you hadn’t cleaned it off a week ago when your body was fighting a little cold and your eyes were dry. In the week that you had the lid on that bottle, the germs you exposed to the bottle tip could have strengthened the size of their army and now be ready to full on attack your eye with that virus you were previously fighting. No one wants that, right?

So, keep those bottle tips clean, America. And never, ever share. As always, ask your closest America’s Best optometrist if you have any concerns about your eye health.