Many elderly patients have eye-drops prescribed. We have examined the abilities in eye drop application of 43 consecutive outpatients aged 75 years or more who completed a questionnaire and demonstrated their technique in eye-drop application. Less than one-third of patients applied drops themselves, the rest relying on others; one-third of this group lived alone. The majority of patients experienced some difficulty with the application of their drops and it was estimated that half of those who usually applied their own treatment were unlikely to succeed in instilling a drop into the conjunctival sac. Few patients had been prescribed aids or appliances to improve their eye-drop application technique.