The Nurse Is Instructing a Patient on the Self-Instillation of Eye

The nurse is instructing a patient on the self-instillation of eye drops for acute conjunctivitis. The most important step to instruct this patient is which of the following?

A) proper hand hygiene before instilling the drops
B) rub the eyes only when necessary
C) reuse cotton swabs as needed
D) insert contact lenses after the eye drops have been instilled