How to keep your eye drop schedule straight after cataract surgery

Cataract surgery does not end when you leave the operating room. Using the prescribed drops correctly for the weeks that follow is a real part of recovery.

You may end up with several different drops

After cataract surgery you may be given antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drops, steroid drops and artificial tears together. Each one can have its own daily count and its own duration, so even a note on paper starts to get confusing after a few days.

The first week usually has the most doses, and the count is often stepped down after that. When it is, check three things separately: when the step-down starts, which eye each drop goes in, and how long to wait between drops.

Split the tracking into three parts

• Drug name: don't rely on the bottle's shape or colour alone
• Duration: note the start date, end date, and any day the count changes
• Interval: leave time between drops when you use several in a row

Right after surgery your vision may be cloudy or uncomfortable, and a family member is often helping out. That is exactly when a record of what was actually put in beats a bare alarm.

Using EyeDay

In EyeDay you can set a daily count and start time for each drop, and build your own custom schedule. When you are on several drops for a fixed period, as after cataract surgery, tracking each one's end date separately and logging every dose makes it easy to look back before your next appointment.