Autodrop Eye Drop Guide

✔ Stock on hand — ships NZ-wide from Rose Optometry, Hamilton.

If you cannot get the drop in, the drop does not work

Autodrop is a small guide that clips onto your eye drop bottle. It rests against your brow and cheekbone, holds the lower lid open, and lines the nozzle up over the eye so the drop lands where it is supposed to, first time.

We prescribe drops to a lot of people who then cannot physically administer them. Arthritic hands. Essential tremor. A neck that will not extend. A blink reflex that fires the moment the bottle comes into view. What happens next is predictable: the drop lands on the cheek, the bottle empties in a fortnight, and the patient concludes the treatment failed. The drop did not fail. The delivery did.

It costs a few dollars, and it decides whether an expensive bottle of preservative-free drops does anything at all. If you are dosing four times a day and half of them miss, you are effectively on a quarter of the dose you were prescribed.

The honest caveat: it does not fit every bottle. Autodrop is made for standard round dropper bottles. It will not fit single-use vials, and it will not fit some of the wider or squarer bottles. Tell us what you are using and we will check before you buy, or bring the bottle in to us in Hamilton. You can see what we stock in dry eye drops.

Who it’s for

• Arthritis, tremor, or any loss of fine control in the hands
• A strong blink reflex that shuts the eye as the bottle approaches
• Necks that will not tip back far enough to aim a bottle
• Glaucoma patients on drops for life, where every missed dose counts
• Carers and family putting drops into someone else’s eyes

Questions we get asked

Will it fit my bottle?
It is made for standard round multi-dose dropper bottles. It will not fit preservative-free single-use vials, which are a completely different shape, and it will not fit some wider or squarer bottles. Tell us the brand you are using and we will check before you order rather than after.

Can I use it with my contact lenses in?
Yes — the guide never touches the eye itself, only the lid and the bony rim around it. Whether the drop you are using is safe to put in over a lens is a separate question, and worth asking us.

How do I clean it?
Warm soapy water, rinsed and left to air dry. Do not boil it and do not put it in a dishwasher — heat can distort the plastic and it will stop gripping the bottle properly.

How long does one last?
It is reusable indefinitely. Replace it if it cracks or the bottle grip loosens. Do not share one between people if either of you has an eye infection.

Will it stop me blinking the drop away?
It helps a great deal for most people, because it holds the lower lid open and keeps the bottle out of your direct line of sight. It cannot override a determined blink, though — if that is your main problem, it is worth trying one before buying several.

What if my problem is squeezing the bottle rather than aiming it?
Then you want the Autosqueeze instead. Plenty of our patients use both together, and for arthritic hands that combination is often what finally makes daily drops workable.

Why buy from Rose Optometry

• We are an independent, optometrist-owned New Zealand practice — in Hamilton since 1969.
• Free optometrist advice with every order. Reply to your order confirmation and an optometrist answers.
• Free NZ shipping on orders over $100, and everything on this page is stock on hand.