infant conjunctivitus - please help

[Betty20]

Hello,

We took our four and a half month old son to the doctor today as he has a very gunky eye. The doctor 'thinks' its conjuntivitus and has prescribed Chloramphenicol eye drops.

(His eyelids on one eye are red and puffy and its secreting nasty yellowy / green goo on a regular basis. I'd tried bathing it with cooled boild water and breast milk over the weekend but it just got worse and worse, hence the visit to the doctor.)

I didn't want to scare myself but looked online (NHS Direct) at Chloramphenicol and now I'm really worried! I'm not sure it should have been prescribed for someone so young?

And apparently conjunctivitus can lead to meningitis. No wonder they were happy to see us even though it was a bank holiday today.

If you have any experience of using these eye drops I'd be very grateful to hear from you, or if you have any suggestions for alternative treatments for conjunctivitis?

Many thanks.

Cold chamomile tea was recommended by our pharmacist but you can't go far wrong with saline. Keep bathing regularly and make sure you use a different pad for each eye. This is VVVV common - your child will prob get it loads. No advice re the drops, sorry.

I think we got given this for our son's viral conjunctivitis and it was fine, cleared up quickly. Apparently most conjunctivitis is bacterial, but not all. Maybe it could be an early symptom of meningitis as it is a viral sympton and that's what it means? Am sure your son does not have that though as dr would have said. They have to put all the possibilities on the back of the packet, though, don't they?

Am not a medical person at all but just wanted to reassure as far as poss.

Hi
I used it on my baby too - when he was same age. It was absolutely fine and worked a treat. You can't get it over the counter for under threes (I think) - but is prescribed (obviously) - for a really bad infection I would recommend it.Sooner you get it in, the better too.
Hope your little one gets better soon.
Not medical BTW, just an opinion.

Not an expert, but as I understand it, the chances of conjunctivitus leading to meningitis are very low. There is always a slight risk, but I would have thought only in sever/untreated cases.
Conjunctivitus is very common in young children & babies - my two have had it 3 or 4 times (now 4 & 2), & usually sorts itself out quickly. It's highly infectious, though, so don't be surprised if your eyes start itching too

Ime, the eye drops clear the symptoms in 1/2 days, although keep administering the drops for the full course, or it can come straight back.

Fwiw, I was prescribed chloramphenicol when pregnant - then read the packet & went back to the doctors in a panic (side effects include miscarriage!) - he said the risks where minute. (That said, I stopped taking it & waited for the conjunctivitis to clear up on its own, as it was only mild)

HTH

Conjunctivitis is extremely common with young children. I think my daughter probably had it 5 or 6 times before she was 1 - some of them are just more prone to blocked tear ducts. You've taken your child to the doctor, so those worst case scenarios should really not be an issue. I've tried the cooled boiled salty water etc too, and found that it really does not help. The quickest solution for us has always been a visit to the GP and the dreaded drops. It may well take a day or two to clear up once you start using the drops. I am sure that we have been given chloramphenicol in the past when my daughter was well under 1. However I am not a doctor or a pharmacist, so if you are worried, call the GP again tomorrow to check. In the meantime I would probably give the drops because I would want to get started. There is an alternative antibiotic drop called Fucithalmic which you can get from the GP (actually I find it easier because it is thicker and does not need to live in the fridge) which I think has no "lower age limit".

Thanks everyone, I do feel reassured a bit now.

I do appreciate that its very common - I just didn't have much faith in the doctor we saw today. He gave the impression he'd never even seen a baby! Ok, some exageration but he did seem rather bemused.

It doesn't say on the box or pharmasists label how long the course should be, it just says 'discard after 28 days'. Should I use the drops until the eye looks clear or a day or so beyond, just to make sure do you think?

DD recently had a course of them - & hers were for 5 days (we caught it fast, so she was asymptomatic from about day 2). I'd pop into the pharmcist tomorrow & ask how long you should give them for - ime, pharmacists are much better about that sort of qu than GPs!

Good advice funny, thank you. Will do.

It's usually for 5 days, Betty but most children are assymptomatic after 3.