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Original poster

2 week old, crusty - runny eye

17 replies

pucca · 20/08/2006 09:11

my ds who is 2 weeks old today, has started with a runny eye which goes crusty, i am wiping the eyelid with cotton wool and cool boiled water, but is it likely he will need antibiotics? if it hasn't cleared up by tomorrow should i take him to GP? or could my HV (who is coming tomorrow) give me something for it?

TIA

OP posts:
misdee · 20/08/2006 09:12

are you breastfeeding? if you are then squeeze a drop or two on to his eye.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 20/08/2006 09:12

Are you breastfeeding? If so, squirting, dabbing, dropping, or however you can manage it, some breastmilk in his eye. Works a treat.

Original poster
pucca · 20/08/2006 09:13

No not BF-ing Misdee.

OP posts:
VeniVidiVickiQV · 20/08/2006 09:15

Keep on doing as you are, its quite common in newborns. Get it checked by GP if you are worried.

Original poster
pucca · 20/08/2006 09:19

Thanks VVV.

OP posts:
liquidclocks · 20/08/2006 09:27

DS suffered a lot with this when very little (FF too). Doc said some LO's get it because their little tear ducts don't work properly yet rather than it being conjunctivitis. Unlikely to need antibiotics unless causing distress. Keep doing what you're doing and let the HV have a look tomorrow - unless your DS seems very upset in which case call your out of hours GP.

sleepysooz · 20/08/2006 09:39

my ds had this for 3 months, his eye was a little mis-shapen after but it didn't stay that way. I should talk to your health visitor next time you see her, although my son only had eye drops in the 3rd month, I think you are doing the right thing with the cooled boiled water thing. I was in the same boat as you, not bf! (not everyone is lucky enough to do so)

Congratulations anyway, how are you sleeping? are you ok?

Arh, little baby. I have twins nearly 3 now, but I can't remember their first 6 months so enjoy every minute, plenty of photo's and write a diary, its so sweet a year down the line to read, I wrote everything that passed the twins mouth for 9 months, or I'd just forget who I'd fed and how much!

ENJOY!

pointydog · 20/08/2006 09:39

DD1 had this when very very tiny and liquidclocks has said it all really.

Wiping with cotton wool and cool boiled water. Dd1 was also prescribed eye drops which were an unbelievable fiddle with a tiny one, as you can imagine! So if you feel you should be doing more, say to gp.

Original poster
pucca · 20/08/2006 13:23

Thanks everyone

Think it down to dh, as only noticed yesterday when it was too late that he had used warm tap water and the same piece of cotton wool for both eyes! so think it is down to that.Looks quite sticky, i just keep wiping with the cool boiled water and cotton wool...poor little guy.

Sleepysooz...I am fine thanks, and night times are not too bad, he just wakes once for a feed. Thanks for asking.

OP posts:
franke · 20/08/2006 13:51

Pucca, make sure you wipe from the outside of the eye towards the nose. My ds had this too. If it is a blocked tear duct what you can do is press firmly on the side of the nose next to the inside edge of the eye. Just press once, once a day quite firmly and it helps to open up the duct. (We were advised to do this by our doctor and the crustiness cleared after a few days)

aaronsmummy · 20/08/2006 13:51

Brolene - you can get it over the counter - I swear by it. 1 day usually does it.

ComeOVeneer · 20/08/2006 14:08

ds had this when he was little. It fluctuated for several months (gp said it was a blocked tear duct and it would hopefully clear as he got older). We did the daily pressing by the side of the nose too. At about 8 months it became very red and swollen and gunky and he was prescribed a course of antibiotic eye drops which totally cleared it and it has been fine ever since.

noonar · 20/08/2006 14:44

i know that no one's mentioned conjunctivitis on this thread, but in case that's what your problem is, i wanted to say we were prescribed drops for this when dd was 3 wks. the possible side effects with chloramphenicol (SP!) in new borns make scarey reading. we used cooled boiled water a eye bright, from neil's yard. it worked a treat.

LaDiDaDi · 20/08/2006 15:05

If the eye itself doesn't look red and inflammed then I would just leave it. Dd's right eye is like this on and off but as it doesn't bother her we just keep it clean.

kiwikid · 20/08/2006 17:02

We had same thing with our DS... also prescribed antibiotics... waste of time. This sounds really weird but we took him to a chiropractor who works with babies and chn. She did some cranial manipulation and it worked and absolute treat!! He loves it, had regular appointments for a few weeks and now goes once a month.

HappyMumof2 · 20/08/2006 17:57

Message withdrawn

Original poster
pucca · 20/08/2006 22:32

Thanks for all the advice

It has got worse today, so i am going to try and get in at GP tomorrow, the white part of his eye looks quite red, and there is quite alot of yellow gunge

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