Are they optex eye drops for conjunctivitis the same for children and adults

[cultkid]

The pharmacist told me they were when my son needed them previously when he was 2

My 7 month old has had conjunctivitis come on since Saturday morning

We are going away in the morning and the flight is at 7, so before gps open

He is well in himself but his eyes look bad.

I want to get him some drops because it feels excessive going to the hospital for some sticky eyes to see an ooh gp.

Are they still the same? Thanks

Sorry for the typo in title

Optrex for infected eyes, yes as long as it's a bacterial infection, which for little ones it normally is. Red with yellow gunk. However just double check the age advice? I don't think I used it for DD until she was at least one.

And also some pharmacies are really reluctant to sell it, I'm a dispensing optician and always had to argue the point about it being bacterial. If the drops are used too often it stops being effective

Yes it's yellowy creamy colour looks pretty gross and red upper eye lids 😭 I'm sad it's happened to him
Yes I think I'll have a nightmare trying to get it from the chemist. Don't even know how he got it as he hasn't really been out this week. Maybe my 3 year old has passed some germs to him

I will see inside the leaflet for the dose.. wish I knew a GP to just call up. My friends are on the other side of the world working, so not currently awake

I'm pretty sure pharmacists cannot give it for under 2 year olds.
It may be it can't be used under a certain age.

I've called 111 and I'm waiting for a clinician to call me back. His eyes look awful

See 😭

Normal pharmacists can't sell it for under 2's but a clinical pharmacists can prescribe it for over 6 month olds. We were sent to a, suitable pharmacist on Friday by our GP surgery for our 14 month old.

Poor little one, looks uncomfortable.

Yes, they're the same.
All medication however has potential side effects - including chloramphenicol. It's rare, but as babies are smaller, the risk of side effects is greater.

It's also the case that the vast majority of conjunctivitis clears in the same time with our without treatment and although his eyes look gungy, the whites of them (the bulbar conjunctiva) don't look too red.

You simply need to wipe the eyes with cotton wools pads with cool boiled tap water or saline if you are on the plane. Use a separate one for each eye.

Thanks all, I showed the pharmacist at the airport and he got the drops.
It's been 4 days and it's still pretty bad so I'm glad we are using the drops
We are keeping his eyes clean. They are worse when he wakes up.
There is an improvement each time we use the drops.
Thanks for the really informative answer @underneaththeash that was actually really useful to read

I’m glad he’s doing better!

Better then they were

Do you breastfeed, OP? I’m not sure of the science behind it, but anecdotally a drop of breastmilk in his eyes might help. I cleared up my 2 month old’s conjunctivitis using breastmilk (though I accept it may just have been coincidental and he might have got better on his own).

I don't breast feed any more 😭 used all the stash in the freezer
I tried to get him to latch when it came up to see if there was anything and I also pumped 4 times in a day to try and stimulate a small supply but I gave up when I realised how much time it would take to get some milk back and that his eyes will have cleared by then
My first son had it when he was a baby and I did use breast milk on him and it really really helps. Liquid gold!

Oh well - the chloramphenicol should help anyway!