16 week old with sticky eye (no breast milk!)

[Nutgirl]

Hi all, my 16 week old has a bit of a sticky eye, small amount of yellowy / green gunk coming out and watery, plus he keeps rubbing it. He's just got over chicken pox too ??. I'm cleaning it with cotton wool and cooled boiled water. I know breast milk is the ideal cure but he's bottle fed and my milk dried up weeks ago. Do I need to take him to doctor / get drops from pharmacy or should it just clear up by itself? My 3 year old has had it a few times and the drops do work well but it's a faff and I don't want to use them if I don't have to. What do people think? Thanks!

Pharmacists don't like advising on tiny babies ime. I'd make an appointment with my gp or hv and in the meantime add some salt to the boiling water before it cold. Saline solution is a natural antiseptic & should hopefully help things until you can get them seem by the gp.

Mine had this too- we were told that it was probably a blocked tear duct as they're so tiny at that age. The doctor told us to massage the tear duct to unblock it- just with your little finger in the inner corner of their eye, very gentle pressure a few times every day. This and cleaning with cotton wool and cooled boiled water cleared it up pretty quickly.

How recent was the chicken pox?

If there is green goo, and boiled water isn't working, I think you need to see the GP.

ask gp for chlorenphenamine (or something spelt similar) drops.

chloramphenicol! !

Warm some full fat milk slightly (lukewarm) and use cotton wool to wipe your babies eyes with it. Works a treat. A very old nurse/ward matron told me to do this. Something to do with enzymes and acid/alkaline. It's slightly miraculous.

Baby's. Sorry.

My 6mo has something similar - the pharmacist said there's nothing you can buy over the counter at that age (under 2), but to keep cleaning it with cooled boiled water and see the GP if it hasn't cleared up in 5-7 days. I've been using breast milk as well as the water, but it does seem to be clearing up.

Of you want advice it would do no harm to phone the surgery and ask to speak to the GP.

my DS and DD were the same, advised both times to clear it with warm water and breast milk neither worked. the chloramphenicol drops will clear it in about 3 days