To use:

• First, wash your hands. Tilt the head back and with the index finger of one hand, press gently on the skin just beneath the lower eyelid and pull the lower eyelid away from the eye to make a space. Drop the medicine into this space. Let go of the eyelid and gently close the eyes. Do not blink. Keep the eyes closed and apply pressure to the inner corner of the eye with your finger for 2 or 3 minutes, to allow the medicine to be absorbed. This is especially important in infants.
• Immediately after using the eye drops, wash your hands to remove any medicine that may be on them. If you are using the eye drops for an infant or child, be sure to wash the infant's or child's hands also, and do not let any of the medicine get in the infant's or child's mouth.
• To keep the medicine as germ-free as possible, do not touch the applicator tip to any surface (including the eye). Also, keep the container tightly closed.

Use this medicine only as directed. Do not use more of it and do not use it more often than your doctor ordered. To do so may increase the chance of too much medicine being absorbed into the body and the chance of side effects.

Dosing

The dose of cyclopentolate will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of cyclopentolate. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

• For ophthalmic solution (eye drops) dosage form:
  • For eye examinations:
    • Adults One drop 40 to 50 minutes before the exam. Dose may be repeated in five to ten minutes.
    • Children One drop 40 to 50 minutes before the exam. After five to ten minutes, another drop may be used.
    • Babies One drop of 0.5% solution.

Missed dose

If you miss a dose of this medicine, apply it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.

Storage

To store this medicine:

• Keep out of the reach of children. Overdose of this medicine is very dangerous for infants and children.
• Store away from heat and direct light.
• Keep the medicine from freezing.
• Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For cyclopentolate, the following should be considered:

Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to cyclopentolate. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as preservatives.

Pregnancy Cyclopentolate may be absorbed into the body. However, studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals.

Breast-feeding Cyclopentolate may be absorbed into the mother's body. It is not known whether cyclopentolate passes into the breast milk. However, cyclopentolate has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children Infants and young children and children with blond hair or blue eyes may be especially sensitive to the effects of cyclopentolate. This may increase the chance of side effects during treatment.

Older adults Elderly people are especially sensitive to the effects of cyclopentolate. This may increase the chance of side effects during treatment.

Other medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your health care professional if you are using any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

• Brain damage (in children) or
• Down's syndrome (mongolism) (in children and adults) or
• Glaucoma or
• Spastic paralysis (in children) Cyclopentolate may make the condition worse