I was given eye drops to give my dad about 2 weeks ago and he refuses to take them. He says he will take them, but then like a half hour to an hour he refuses to take them. He does not have any problem taking his oral meds just the eye drops. What can be done about this matter?
If dad has dementia, you might ask his doc if there's anything that would make him more compliant, but, in the end, if he's just about in his right mind, it's his right to refuse medication.
There may be something else involved, and that's the inability to get the eye drops in easily. My father had this trouble. Sometimes it does take practice to get the little nozzle positioned just in the corner of the eye, but not touching it. It's the positioning and avoiding touching the eye that's the challenge.
It's easy to end up watering the area around the eye while the drops drip down the face.
There are special applicators but we didn't find them that helpful. Sometimes trial and error works better.
If you or someone could apply the drops, it might ease the way for him to accept that it's a matter of learning how to insert them. And if it makes his eyes feel better, so much the better.
Good luck!