People who use eye drops know how difficult they are to put in safely without assistance. Sometimes small sized eye drop bottles can also be difficult to open.

Gerresheimer’s packaging experts have developed an application aid called DropAid to eliminate this problem.

DropAid is an application aid for daily use. It helps dropper bottle users to open the bottle and, when placed on the bottle neck, it makes it easy and simple to position the dropper correctly above the eye.

Gerresheimer Plastic Packaging global senior vice-president Niels Düring said: "We put ourselves in the shoes of the person who has to use the eye drops and considered how we could make it easier to use.

"That’s how we came up with this small but extremely useful DropAid that we’d like to recommend to all our customers who manufacture eye drops.

"It will also help them to ensure better compliance in the medications."

DropAid is easy to use so it is ideal for senior patients and children. It has a circular aperture, which fits perfectly onto the eye drop bottle top and helps to open it with little effort or pressure.

If DropAid is placed vertically on the bottle neck with the crescent part clipped onto the open bottle, it can be rested firmly on the side of the eye so the correct number of drops can be given.

DropAid fits ‘System A Dropper Bottles’ for ophthalmic applications. Gerresheimer’s products for ophthalmic and nasal applications, include LDPE, HDPE, PP and other materials for bottles and droppers, as well as CLC bottles.

The company also produces lens cases and bottles for nasal sprays with nebulizer or pump systems.