getting eye drops in a 3yr old! argh!!

[swingitagain]

my son has to have atropine eye drops once a day to correct a lazy eye.
I am having a nightmare trying to get them in - he goes nuts, rolling around, screaming, shutting eyes tight shut so I can't open them with my fingers...

Once they are in, he's totally fine within a second but I just can't get them in.

I asked the eye doctor if I could put them in at night while he's asleep but he said 'it's better to do it in the morning'

I've tried bribery, sticker charts, treats...all the things that usually work but none of them are working.

Any suggestions?

Ah kids and medicine...I remember those days my now 6yr old was a nightmare too! I vaguely remember giving eye drops but she would lie still and let me put them on closed eyes and they would go in when she opened them - she would still be lying down at this point.

Can you leave them for a couple of days as now he has worked himself up about them? Then introduce them and maybe do them on his teddy, even let him have a go and praise the teddy for being a big ted, keeping still even reward the ted then just leave it, you never know! He may even suggest its his turn esp if the treat is a good one good luck

you can put the drop in the corner of the eye by the nose while the eye is shut. Open the eye and drop goes in, slightly less traumatic as he doesn't have to see the drop coming. Otherwise it's just a case of pinning him down and getting it over and done with as quickly as possible, not so nice but sometimes the only way to do it. You could try wrapping him in a big towel to minimise the flailing arms or that could make it worse, definitley worth a try though.

The procedure that bigcar mentions is pretty good, you can put them in when he is asleep in the morning that way.

And yes, morning is much better for atropine penalisation therapy.

Used to balance a chocolate minstrel on my 3 year old's forehead and make a game of it. if it stayed on he could eat it .

Hi, try putting your thumb about 2 cm below the eye on the cheek and you can easily pull the lower lid down, aim to get the drop on the inside of the lower lid. Its a little less traumatic than the drop falling on the eyeball and that is where the drop is absorbed anyway, if you can get him to look up it is even better.
Try not to keep them in the fridge as the coldness can be upsetting when it goes in the eye, also keep them as near to the eye as you can without touching it so that they don't drop in from a great height, they can also sting momentarily as you have found.

The reason why it is better in the morning is that it makes the eye more difficult to focus so making the other eye work harder, it would be a bit pointless if he then goes to sleep.