How Many Drops Are In Your Eyedrop Bottle? Why It's Vital To Know

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How Many Drops Are in Your Eyedrop Bottle? Why It’s Vital To Know

Feb 9, 2022 | Eye Health | 0 comments

Ever look at your eyedrop bottle and wonder how many times you can give it a squeeze before you’ll need another refill?

For experienced eyedrop users, the amount of medication you have left is a big deal. Eye diseases such as glaucoma require you to stick to the prescribed regimen. This means going a few days without a drop can potentially harm the health of your eyes — and ultimately your vision. Seeing as many medicated drops don’t come cheap, it pays to keep tabs on your supply to get the most use out of every bottle.

So how can you measure the number of drops in each eyedrop bottle? Let’s squeeze out the details.

A Look at the Numbers: How Many Eyedrops Are There?

Most eyedrop manufacturers will include product information on either the side of your bottle or its box, which lists its solution volume in milliliters (abbreviated mL). Occasionally you’ll also find the estimated number of drops per container. For instance, latanoprost gives an approximate drop count of 80 drops for its 2.5mL bottle within its consumer leaflet. Travatan Z — another glaucoma medication — comes in either 2.5mL or 5mL packaging, which gives an idea of how much mileage you can expect out of it.

A common rule of thumb is that for every milliliter of eye solution you have, there are roughly 20 drops. However, this estimation varies greatly depending on the viscosity (meaning its thickness or consistency) of the medication and size of the dropper. After also factoring the angle of the bottle when you release a drop, it turns out there isn’t really a good way to measure your drops accurately.

But regardless of how you count your drops, every drop measurement has a major flaw: they assume perfect coordination with the user. Have you ever struggled to get just one drop into your eye and dealt with excess running down your cheek? You’re not alone! A study performed in 2009 gathered that, on average, the number of drops patients use before successfully landing one in their eye was 1.8 drops. That means most people are squeezing out nearly one extra drop just to calibrate their aim before getting one in. Worse still, each drop attempt in the experiment saw an average of seven drops used at a time! With numbers like those, a supply of 80 latanoprost drops might not even last one month…even when used for one eye!

Couple these issues with the fact that typical bottles put out a drop that’s five times the capacity of the human eye, and you’ll begin to see a trend – the trend that inspired us to create the Nanodropper adaptor. The struggle to make a supply of medical drops last for the intended length of time is difficult for anyone! Roughly 80% of every eyedrop is wasted due to overflow or systemic absorption, not even factoring in a patient’s aiming ability.

Determining the number of drops in your eyedrop bottle, then, uncovers a significant problem: patients receiving drops for an ocular condition are very likely to run out of their supply before the next refill is available. Rather than taking the hit and paying out of pocket for more drops, most patients will err on the side of waiting for the next resupply to come up, meaning they could go days, weeks, or even months without medication. In the meantime, their vision might permanently suffer.

The Nanodropper Adaptor’s Revolutionary Approach

Imagine extending your supply of eyedrops to last 2-3 times longer without breaking the bank or becoming a guru who never misses a single drop. Sounds too good to be true, right? Here’s the good news: Nanodropper has already transformed that dream into a reality with an intuitive and cost-effective solution…and you can take advantage of it right now.

With a Nanodropper adaptor, drop sizes are reduced to eliminate most of the waste of your typical eyedrop. This increases the use-life of your eyedrop bottles and reduces the frequency of unnecessary or early refills. Just twist the adaptor onto your compatible eyedrop bottle, and you’re good to go. At a price point which pays for itself if you spend at least $8-$10 for your drops, a Nanodropper adaptor is an ideal answer for anyone who routinely uses eyedrops and struggles with making their bottle last through the month.

We learned early on that small eyedrops are just as effective for your eye to take in as oversized drops — in fact, enlarged drops can increase your risk of developing adverse side-effects, according to studies.

Whether you meticulously count your eyedrops or not, running out of your supply frequently can be a burden on both your wallet and eye health. If you’re tired of tossing the bottles too much, visit our Nanodropper adaptor product page to discover the benefits!

This article has been reviewed by a medical professional. Please consult your eye doctor for medical advice.

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