How to use eye drops as directed

Follow the Directions section of the label exactly; it was written for that product and no other. Quell’s reads: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Everything below is about reading that line correctly, and about the instructions that sit around it on the panel.

One drop, three times a day, each eye

“In each eye” makes the dose a per-eye dose. Three times a day in both eyes is six drops a day altogether, not three.

The label doesn’t name times of day. If you need to fit doses around something specific, such as other eye drops or an upcoming procedure, ask your eye doctor or pharmacist how the directions fit.

Before each drop

The When using section gives one instruction: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. On the home page, the same rule names your eye and your fingers too. The aim is to keep the solution clean for every dose after this one.

Glance at the color while you are at it. Product appears as a milky brown solution, which is expected. The Do not use line reads: If this product changes color. If it no longer looks the way it did when it arrived, leave it.

What the label leaves to your doctor

Some common questions aren’t answered on Quell’s label at all: whether to use it with contact lenses, how to combine it with other eye drops, and whether to use it for a child. When a label is silent, the right person to ask is a pharmacist or your eye doctor, with the carton in your hand.

Using more, or less

The directions are the directions. Extra drops aren’t part of them. If three a day in each eye isn’t giving you the relief you hoped for, don’t work around it. The label says what to do: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours.

The panel also opens with a general caution: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only.

Building it into your day

It can help to tie doses to things you already do at fixed points, like breakfast or the end of the workday, so a dose isn’t left to memory. Pick any routine you like; the numbers on the label stay the same.

Keeping the bottle in good order

How a bottle is kept is part of using it properly: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). More in how to store eye drops. If you are away from home, the same rules apply on the road, covered in traveling with eye drops.

Finishing a bottle

At six drops a day, a .33 fl oz (10 mL) bottle won’t last indefinitely, and it helps to know roughly when you will need the next one. Ordering a few days ahead means you never run short. How long a bottle lasts works through the arithmetic.

The full panel

The complete label, including every ingredient, is on the Drug Facts page. If you haven’t ordered yet, the buy panel shows prices and lets you choose how many bottles.