Sticky eye - breastmilk?

[bessie26]

DD2 (4 weeks old) has a bit of a sticky eye (just occasionally the last 2-3 days)

I'm sure I read somewhere that breastmilk was supposed to be good at clearing this up! Am I imagining it? Is it just an old wives tale? If it is true & works, how on earth do you do it? Presumably i don't just try to squirt it in? (I'm not sure my aim is that good!), should I put some (how much?) on some cotton wool & just wipe it? How often? Help!'

[rubyslippers]

Onto cotton wool is fine - get the cotton wool quite damp and use a separate bit or each eye

And yes, it works

[jugglingwiththreeshoes]

I did try it with DD, many years ago, and think it worked rather well !
Breastmilk is amazing stuff !
I think I just aimed and fired - I wouldn't bother with cotton-wool if I were you, as you mightn't get the full effect of the liquid drops

[geordieminx]

Yes, squirt a bit on a piece of cotton wool, wipe once from corner out, then bin, same on other eye.

Don't rub more than once with the same piece or your are just spreading the infection.

[pinkytheshrinky]

yes def works

[BertieBotts]

Breastmilk works for loads of things - I remember my stepmum putting some on a wasp sting when her DS was tiny and it went right down :)

[MrsFogi]

Yes another vote here worked a treat on dd when she was a day or two old.

[MrsFogi]

Oh and I just squirted it onto her closed eye so that when she opened her eye it spread around iyswim.

[bessie26]

Righty-ho, I'll try squirting her in the morning when the boobs are fully loaded! - thanks!

[treetrunkthighs]

Yes, works a treat. Also used bm on my own conjunctivitis - gone in 4 hours. Amazing!

[geordieminx]

I was always squirting ds with milk.. Accidently like

[sneezecakesmum]

Just a word of warning, neonatal conjunctivitis (up to 28 days old) can be very serious in newborns. this
It could be DD is over this danger period, but it may be wisest to seek medical advice. Of course it is the weekend...
Give the breastmilk a go, it certainly cant do any harm!

[clouiseg]

Omg sneeze I was about to post singing the praises of BM for everything (Inc nappy rash on older DD & the odd spot I have!) when I read your post & the link!



I had no idea it could be serious! My DS is 22 days old and has had severe green oozing eyes since birth which are not improving! Am a woman on the edge...just started a thread about his possible thyroid problem on here too!! Oooer now thinking I should ask for a swab of his eyes....

But damn it's a blinkin weekend!!

[jugglingwiththreeshoes]

Sorry to hear about your DS's sticky eyes, clouiseg
Do you have a walk-in centre you could take him to over the weekend ?
Or perhaps phone NHS Direct, though I suspect they will recommend someone takes a look as he is such a wee chappie !

[clouiseg]

Well I have to go to nnu today for a wee sample for him so I may ask them to swab him. He's also under the weather today, very congested. I used the nasal aspirator on him and his little nose is full of yucky bright green stuff. I wonder if he's all blocked with the nose & sticky eyes?

[sneezecakesmum]

clouiseg.. I would definitely get those eyes looked at asap as they've been gunky since birth. It probably will be OK (most things are) and the eyes have just got contaminated with the snot, it happens all the time, but you can never be too careful with eyes.

[clouiseg]

sneeze nnu refused to see him as he is snotty (risk of infection etc) so ended up calling out of hours. A gp visit, referral to childrens ward via a&e and 7 hours later a doctor on the ward told us it's normal and that it could be a virus! I questioned how he could have contracted a virus in my WOMB as he's had it since birth (!) and he said it couldve been something contracted in my vagina!!! Except I had a c section [shock!]

Theyve swabbed him and thankfully there was plenty of gunk in both his little eyes so we've been told not to worry at all.

Will await the results tomorrow/Tuesday and see what happens. If nothing grows I think I'll insist the gp refers him to check his tear ducts...?

[sneezecakesmum]

clou.. hopefully they also gave you some fucidin or chloremphenical eye ointment anyway? Poor mite has suffered enough, and you too, but at least they took it seriously. Hopefully it is just a minor problem, the other thing is not too common, and it will be monitored. Your GP should get the swab results back in a few days so ring the surgery. Good luck and don't worry.

[jugglingwiththreeshoes]

Sounds like a lot of waiting around Clou, but at least you know it's been properly checked out. Hope it clears up soon. Sounds like a long day though.
Have a hot chocolate and an early night

[BlackSwan]

Old wives tales abound. Breast milk isn't proper treatment for an eye infection & squirting milk into the eyes will only introduce more bacteria. See a doc for a correct diagnosis and medication.

[peggotty]

Blackswan, breastmilk is sterile so you won't introduce more bacteria...

[4madboys]

treated all my kids conjunctivitis with breastmilk and it works wonders!

[BlackSwan]

Breast milk can't be sterile. If it were, then viruses such as HIV wouldn't be able to pass through breast milk to infect a baby. Having said which it seems I'm the only woman who wasn't squirting BM into my baby's eyes - seems loads of women stand by BM as effective treatment for it (though wonder whether some of the babies actually had blocked ducts?) - so perhaps I'm in the wrong here.

[clouiseg]

They didn't give us anything at all for his eyes so just continued with the cooled boiled water & breast milk! Incidentally, the MW, HV, GP & nurse all advised using breast milk on his eyes and as a qualified breastfeeding support worker I've always advised it too! In any case, at times when I'm latching him on and letting down at the same time, he occasionally gets a face full of mummy milk whether I like it or not!

I also wonder whether it may be a problem with his ducts so will chase that if the swabs come back ok!