Newborn gunky eyes not resolving with antibiotic ointment?

[autumnfoxes]

DS had a very weepy, oozing eye a few days ago. The other one wasn’t so bad but not perfect. We got an antibiotic ointment on prescription and today was supposed to be the last day of using it.

Yesterday both eyes looked like they’d cleared up but today the gunk has come back with a vengeance ☹️ Do we just keep going with the ointment?

I found breast milk on a cotton wool ball - just one swipe and then in the bin - to be very helpful

Breast milk is brilliant for newborn gunky eyes, you can even squeeze a drop into the corner of the eye directly. Clears it up in no time usually.

Mine had this and it took a while to clear. Cool boiled water and wipe them a few times a day. And as other PP breastmilk was amazing. i think is lasted 2-3 weeks

Cool boiled water and cotton wool balls. Wipe once per ball only. Do this several times a day, at least once every three hours.

Works on babies, adults, dogs and cats. Assume it works on other species too.

I was going to say that too - our midwife recommended this too.

When I was in hospital I used the colostrum which did help. But a few days ago when this oozing came back I used breast milk (which had come in) and it made it even worse! That’s what prompted us to go to the GP to get the ointment as it was oozing as quickly as we could clear it up.

I’m worried if I try the breastmilk again it’ll have the same effect?

I also used a saline solution from the pharmacist (it was free but this was a long time ago). It's essentially salt water. Again just one wipe and bin to avoid spreading the infection

It could be normal newborn blocked tear ducts, in which case antibiotics aren't going to work, you just have to keep cleaning them and wait it out. Did they actually swab the eye to see if there was a bacterial infection?

A constantly weepy eye does suggest a blocked tear duct...

Breast milk wiped over it a few times a day.

No swab… how do we fix the blocked tear duct?

They almost always gradually open up as the baby grows, so generally takes months.

One of mine had newborn eye on and off until six months. Would use breast milk each time. Eventually it never returned.

Blocked tear duct. Mine had it for about 11 months. It will eventually clear- just keep it clean. My son looked like he had one eye permanently closed in many of his baby pictures!

My DD had a gunky eye as a newborn. We tried various drops and each time the gunk came back. In the end I used cool boiled water until her tear duct grew and resolved itself when she was four months old.

are the whites of the eyes red at all?

No, but the upper eyelids look somewhat red/inflamed.

It’s more likely to be blocked tear ducts then.
good info here
www.moorfields.nhs.uk/mediaLocal/4hhnotdp/blocked-tear-ducts-in-babies-for-parents.pdf

My youngest had a blocked tear duct, took months and months but it eventually resolved itself

It’s most likely a blocked tear duct. They grow out of it but can take months.

Another one here which thinks blocked tear ducts. But while most babies grow out of it not everyone does. y son needed a simple operation when he was two. He had a stent fitted to open it up. It was over very quickly and his eyes are now perfect.

Hopefully your baby will not need the op. But if they do it's not a problem.

Another one here for breast milk! Will need to do it for a couple of times a day. Did wonders for my newborns eye

Camomile tea is good for this, just make it up with a tea bag and when cool wipe from centre to outside edge of eye with cotton wool ball, throw away and repeat with fresh çotton wool for each wipe.

Just use warm boiled water . Use a different wipe for each eye . Cotton wool not ideal,just a clean cloth/ baby wipe will be better.

If it's a blocked tear duct, we were advised to gently massage the sides of the nose for a minute, a few times a day, near the tear ducts, which helped.