Can you buy the eye drops for conjunctivitis over the counter?

[SoupDragon]

Because, inevitably, BabyDragon has woken up with pink and gooey eyes on a Saturday when the GP is shut. Sigh.

I know I can rinse them out with bicarb in boiled water and if I get desperate I can rinse them with breastmilk but was wondering if I can just go and buy the drops.

There is an over the counter antibiotic eye drop taht works well but not sure about use for babies.

Yes... there's some stuff called goldeneye (which I haven't used) and another one the pharmacist recommended because they were out of stock of the other which was fab (unfortunately forgotten the name). Comes in drops or a gel thing you can squeeze onto the bottom of the eyelid - drops are easier to apply though.

Thanks. I'll feed her lunch than go and thrust her gummy eyes at the pharmicist.

Bum bum bum. Nothing for a 1 year old. Whyare my children only ever ill when the GP is not available? I seriously can't be ar$ed to go to the out of hours clinic. Will have to resort to the other methods til Monday!

apparently you can wipe them with weak chamomile tea. Have tried this, no adverse affects.

are you sure they are not suitable for babies...optrex do an infected eye rememdy you can buy over the counter

The gp can prescribe the antibiotic ointment/drops that the pharmacist won't sell you. They can be used on under 1s but the only way to get is on prescription. Is there an out-of-hours number you can call?

Can only buy for children over 2! DS had same problem a few months ago (he was 18 months)! GP's normally won't prescribe drops for first 5ish days anyway as it is usually self limiting.

There is an out of hours service but it's at the main hospital and I simply can't be ar$ed to drive there. I asked the pharmacist if there was anything I could get over the counter. He was very apologetic.

I know that bicarb in water works as I've had to do this when they woudn't prescibe me the drops because I was bf-ing once . All I need to do is find an eye dropper or some way of getting it into her eyes to rinse them. They're not too bad luckily. I'm convinced I can feel mine gumming up as I type...

don't think I have any chamomile tea

squeezeit gently in with a medicine syringe?

I thought that but when I've given medicine with those syringes it tends to come out all at once with some force I shall have to practise. I used an eyebath when I did mine but Ic an't see that working on DD...

Good idea Lulumama. Also you can clean around the eye and lashes with a drop of baby shampoo diluted in an eggcup of cooled boiled water.

the syringes that come with baby nurofen are less forceful than the others i find!!

LOL! funny you should say that - a friend did a test of them by having a water fight with her children and claimed the nurofen one went the furthest!! I have both sorts anyway so I'll test them out.

oh the shame! let us know which has the best eye drop squirting properties!

Odd - I'm sure the pharmacist sold ours with full knowledge that ds2 was under 1 at the time (mind you, this was a couple of years ago now!!) AND there was nothing on the packaging that said not to use on under-1s. Perhaps they've changed it all now

sorry should have been

You could just bathe the whole eye with some cotton wool. I use warm, slightly salted water with a couple of drops of tea tree oil on my own eyes, just dip in a cotton wool pad and swab it generously over my eyes 2 or 3 times a day. I did the same with ds recently and it cleared up in 2 days.