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Children's health

sore eyes

14 replies

littlemissfixit · 06/02/2010 20:11

my ds is 14 months and have just noticed this evening that one of his eyes is a bit red. Not the actual eye just around it. It has been sticky today and we have been damping it with a cotton wool soaked in warm water. Any ideas of what i should do next? or is there anything i should get for it?

any advice would be fantastic

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cookielove · 06/02/2010 20:18

What colour was the stickyness, if it is yellow, most likely conjunctivits (sp?) which can be contagious.

Some people use breastmilk to clear it, clearly you can only do this if your are breastfeeding, you can continue to keep cleaning it, i would use sterile water.

If he goes to nursery and/or if it gets worse i would get him to the doctors, and get it checked out, he may need drops.

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MarionCole · 06/02/2010 20:31

DS gets conjunctivitis quite a lot, you can buy Brolene over the counter but it's 4 drops a day which can be a nightmare to get in a childs eyes. Your GP can give you something which is only 2 drops a day. Alternatively, just clean it regularly in cool boiled water and it should clear itself within a week.

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littlemissfixit · 06/02/2010 20:39

thanks very much for your replys, i think i'll try the cooled boiled water he's very strong for his age so pinning him down to eye drops in might be a nightmare or damn near impossible.

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cookielove · 06/02/2010 20:55

oooh i can give tips or putting in eye drops, i work in a nursery i;ve experienced alot of fighters.

If he is in nursery, it will have to be prescribed, to him.

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MarionCole · 06/02/2010 21:08

Tips please cookie!

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cookielove · 06/02/2010 21:20

ok, so some people wrap their children in towels, so they can't move their arms, but you need two people one to hold the child one to do the drops, you can pin the child this way (if you only have one adult to hand) kneel over them without placing any weight on them and then put the drops in.

I personally would never do this, as it is setting the child up for a horrible experience.

I take the child sit them on my lap, scoot them down so mainly there chest is on my legs, my arm around their body holding it up to my chest, and then use my other hand to hold open the eye and put the drops in, the first one is easy, they are prepared for the 2nd one.

Or you could lie your child on a changing mat, and proceed to put the drops in, as said before the first will always be the easiest, as they are not expecting it, so alternate eyes each time so you can hopefully get something in each eye.

Personally i think gel is harder then drops, but you may think the other way round.

Some parents apparently put in when they are asleep but this seems cruel to me.

Just yesterday i put drops in, the child was sitting at the table, i held their head back opened they eye and put them in, obviously it does depend on the child.

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cookielove · 06/02/2010 21:22

Oooh also two sets of hands are better than one, most drops are roughly 3-4x a day so bringing in someone to help if possible once or twice may help

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MarionCole · 06/02/2010 21:23

But when they know they are coming and they scrunch their eyes tight shut, how do I get them open? As soon as I get DS on my knee and the drops in my hand, the eyes just shut!

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cookielove · 06/02/2010 21:26

you have to wait for that one 2nd that they release, it is so brief, as soon as they relax it, be ready pull it open and squeeze really quick. Do you want to come round and show you?