3 year old saying waking saying eyes hurt but eyes have been checked and are fine!

[MrsOs]

Our 3 year old son came down with a nasty virus a few weeks ago.. had a high temperature.. was saying his tummy, head, eyes etc hurt.. got a rash which turned itchy.. we took him to the GPs/Out of hours and each time they said it's a virus. But then his eyes became a real problem, he was photophobic.. got referred as GP was concerned about viral meningitis.. anyhow turned out after thorough investigation of his eyes that his eyes are absolutely fine.

It's basically been 2 weeks since the virus started and he is still waking up crying saying his eyes hurt. He is still sniffing too.. but there is no snotty nose. I was thinking of sinus trouble.. I've had sinusitis and had terrible headaches and pressure around the eyes with it. but in himself he seems ok.. it seems the cold has almost but gone.. he is still blinking a lot too. He seems to be able to see stuff at a fair distance away so I don't think he needs glasses but I will make an opticians appt.

This seems to be first thing in the morning, he wakes up screaming saying about his eyes hurting. this morning he was smacking himself in the face.. but he was also sounding quite nasal too.. I distracted him and he seemed to settle down.. but this is driving me nuts.. every morning I dread it cos I know he is going to start kicking and screaming about his eyes and it's horrible to watch. I've got a GP apt for tonight and am going to ask for a course of antibiotics in case it is a sinus infection which needs help to bugger off. Something is wrong but I just don't know what.

anyone had anything like this???

Would an optician be able to check his eye lids? Why would it be worse in the morning? This morning he was really upset asking me to put drops in we have carmize but I'm worried about keep using it the Internet said can cause problems long term..

And why would that make him blink more?

And there is absolutely nothing visably wrong with the eye or lid

Usually the redness is underneath the eyelid. An optician really should be able to check underneath the eyelids. Ring around and see if you can find a child friendly one. They blink more in this situation because that produces more tears which can help. If it's allergy based try not to encourage too much rubbing. Definitely worth checking out but if vision isn't affected and there is no excessive redness, I'm confident it is not too serious.

I had something like this after a cold a few months back. Thought it was conjuctivitis but because it was in both eyes I knew it wasn't. Eyes would be not exactly itchy but irritated on waking and about twice a day I'd get an 'attack' of it. A bit like when you get one of those colds that makes yours eyes suddenly water. I got Brolene drops from the chemist and put these in twice a day. It went away after a few days. Because it was both eyes at once, and it wasn't a vision thing, I felt it wasn't anything serious to do with the actual structure of the eye itself or the brain!

Sadie thanks... Not sure Ivan give roller to a 3 year old???? Vtpro what is your take on tokens which might help?

Brolene not tokens!!

He had an eye infection a few weeks before this virus he was chloramphenical we used it a few days and then he seemed ok so we stopped... Then he seemed a bit gunky so we started again and used for 5 days even probably after gunk has gone. Could this have caused it.. Overuse of the eye drops?

No, I don't think so. Some people react to eye drops on account of the preservatives used. Brolene is just a different type of antibiotic aimed a different bacteria. It's really a good idea to get it checked professionally but I don't think you've done any harm.

He seems to be really bunged up could his sinuses be causing problems with the eye? This morning he was rubbing them a lot. Could I get some drops at the chemist to lubricate them in case they are dry? We have carmize in the cupboard. I read somewhere though that drops for dry eyes can make things worse what might be safe to help him? I have an appt for Friday with tesco opticians I hope they might be able to help.

Is there a way to check for infection when there are limited signs present ie discharge etc?

Usually infection has a discharge. If it's bacterial its milky, crusty. If it's viral it's more watery. Try to discourage the rubbing - if it's an allergy that will cause more histamine to be released and will make the situation worse (though that's not easy to tell a young one!). Don't just grab anything from the cupboard and don't put anything in the eye if it's been open too long (often drops need to be discarded after 30 days form the day they are opened. It's unlikely drops fr dry eye will cause any damage. Good that you are getting it checked out.

Hello - Can you please tell me if you ever found out what caused this issue, or if you found any medicines that helped your child? This sounds like exactly what my son currently has and I'm trying to figure out what's wrong. He had a virus a couple weeks ago, and recently has been waking up in the middle of the night crying about his eyes hurting. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you so much.

sac - you need to get them checked - some upper respiratory tract infections can cause an eye infection (its not usually serious but can make eyes very sore). Sometimes steroid drops are prescribed, although sometimes it is just due to dryness.

If he's over 3 an Optician will check him (its usually free), otherwise I'd ask you GP for a referral.

Hello!

I kindly would love to know how this situation resolved. My son has exactly the same symptoms and doctors cant find anything wrong with him. Your answer would mean a lot!!

Zombie bump, any of the others get to the bottom of this? My toddler is the same at the moment.

Us too.

Had a week of temperature and e odd vomit, thought it was just a virus, but headache and severe intermittent eye pain has begun, especially at night. When it goes he’s a normal crazy happy 4yr old and you’d have no idea.

Any resolution?

Hey!!

Did you ever figure this out!

My son is going through the same thing and I can’t find any information.
He has his well exam soon but it’s been weeks of this complaining and now he’s really crying about it
Plus blinking all the time in the day

Thank you!

I know this is a long shot as this thread hasn’t been active in years but by chance did any of you figure out what was going on? My toddler son had a very mild case of Covid in mid-September and by the end of the month was complaining about eye pain/light sensitivity (not certain if it’s tied to Covid but wanted to include that detail!). We’ve tried allergy medication, antibiotics, gone to the pediatrician, seen a pediatric ophthalmologist and are now going to neuro (but can’t be seen until next year) as they can’t figure out what could be causing this to still occur daily (2+ months later). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just wanted to provide follow up since it looks like this pops up every now and then but no previous updates!

After seeing the pediatrician and pediatric ophthalmologist, we went and saw a pediatric neurologist since it was becoming a daily occurrence. Based on his symptoms, we were told that it is primary stabbing headache. While not overly common in toddlers it does happen. It can be brought on by illness or sometimes just happens. It should likely remedy itself over time but they can give medicine as well (but causes stomach issues). Little one’s symptoms have started to ease so we are going to watch it for now rather than use medicine but will have a follow up appointment with neurology in 2 months to ensure it is better. Hope this helps!

Hi my daughter is 3 and just got over strep A and since that has been waking up during the night cryin saying her eyes hurt and during that day she’s fine you wouldn’t think anything was wrong it’s really worrying me she already wears glasses and is seen by a specialist every 4 months did anyone Khow what this is and is it a brain issue

Did you ever find out what it is this is going on with my 3 year old