To the Editor.
—The instillation of ocular ointments is necessary after many ocular and oculoplastic surgical procedures. Some ointments contain antibiotics to treat or prevent infections, and some ointments provide lubrication to treat or prevent exposure keratopathy.When ointment is applied to both eyes simultaneously, patients commonly become handicapped by blurred vision for several hours. To prevent this, I instruct patients to apply the ointment to each eye on an alternate schedule. For example, if ointment is to be used twice a day, it is not necessary to apply it to each eye at the same moment. Instead, the ointment can be applied to one eye at one time (eg, 7 am and 7 pm) and to the second eye at another time (eg, 10 am and 10 pm). This allows the patient to see out of one eye after the instillation of the ointment to the other. By the