Final answer:
The nurse should cleanse the eye with warm water to remove any exudate before administering eye drops. The patient can self-administer if capable, but should look up during the process. Warming eye drops is not commonly required.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before administering eye drops, the nurse should recognize that it is essential to cleanse the eye with warm water to remove any exudate, before instilling the eye drops. This is important as infections such as conjunctivitis or blepharitis can be precipitated by various agents like bacteria, viruses, allergens, pollutants, or chemicals. The presence of exudate could indicate an underlying infection that may affect how the eye drop is administered and absorbed.
The statement regarding patients administering their own eye drops can be beneficial, but it mainly depends on the patient's ability and comfort level. For effective administration of eye drops, the correct technique requires the patient to look up so that the drops can be placed directly onto the eye surface without causing injury to the cornea or conjunctival sac. As for eye drops being warmed up before use, this is not a standard practice and should only be done if specified by the eye drop's instructions if it would improve patient comfort or efficacy.