Eye drops end up in my nose!

[suneetk1]

Hi all,
On Sunday I put in my two drops of Nutratear as normal, waited a few seconds and then got on with whatever it was I was doing. A few seconds later I thought I was having a nose bleed (I am prone to them), but when I put a tissue to my nose i saw that my Nutra tear eye drops were coming out of my nose!!
Since then I have noticed when I put Dwelle in my eyes, my nose gets a little runny too.
Im pretty sure this is NOT normal or a good thing...anyone have a similar experience or ideas on what is going on?
BTW, where do the eye drops go, normally?
Thanks

Suneet.

[Rebecca Petris]

Im pretty sure this is NOT normal or a good thing...anyone have a similar experience or ideas on what is going on?
BTW, where do the eye drops go, normally?

As a matter of fact this IS normal. Excess tears drain through your nasolacrimal duct. This is why people get a runny nose when they're crying, incidentally.

Ways to prevent unwanted drainage...

• Apply a small drop
• Blot with a tissue
• Press in the corners of your eyes for a bit when/after applying the drops (to hold the ducts closed)

[suneetk1]

Thanks for Rebecca! I was a little worried.

[rubyslippers]

Ask your doctor to see if your tear ducts are abnormally large. Mine are and that may well be a good part of the reason I developed dry eye. I had 3 of them plugged and it helped so much. The drops through the nose are normal to some amount, but if much of your drop comes straight through, you might want to consider size of ducts as something to have fixed.

[Rebecca Petris]

By the way... I did not mean to imply that it's normal for drops to run straight into your nose in a really noticeable manner like that. It's not, unless you've got a lot of excess (or as RS suggests, very large puncta). The drainage should be little and slow enough that you would not normally experience that. I just wanted to reassure you that the way the drops got from Point A to Point B is perfectly normal.

[gz9gjg]

You may need to change how you insert drops.

My OD told me to:

Pull gently downward on the lower lid, to make a pouch. Place drops in this pouch, but don't touch the lid or eye.

Hold the pouch open for 10 to 30 seconds after inserting the drops, then release it.

This will ensure that drops get absorbed by your eye and conjunctiva, rather than running down your nose.

I also do this when somebody else is inserting drops into my eyes - I hate being dive-bombed by drops!

Good luck,

Lynne

[rubyslippers]

You can also put the drops in and then gently use your index finger to press on your tear ducts so your eyes absorb while you have the ducts blocked. Some topical eye medictations are supposed to be administered that way anyway.

[suneetk1]

Thanks for all your replies everyone.
Does anyone have any ideas on why this has started happening all of a sudden? I have been doing Dr L's eye lid massage after a hot compress, (I have MGD), once a day for two months now. Do you think I could be doing the massage with the q-tip wrong, hence causing this? Maybe I made my tear duct/puncta bigger or something?
Thanks for all your responses again. This site has really educated me.

Suneet.

[rubyslippers]

I don't think it would make the duct any bigger.

[Guest]

What you are describing is perfectly normal for me.

Most of us at some time will "taste" eyedrops - I noticed this particularly with Restatis, I found this vile stuff in more ways than 1.

I suggest you try a few different methods of installation but what you are describing in my opinion shouldn't be any cause for alarm.

I don't notice it as much now as I have my lower ducts plugged.

Regards

Ian