3.5 month old with sticky eye since birth

[Hotmad]

I was told it's ok unless eye is red or discharge is green (that would be infection)
But it's just weepy with yellow gloop that builds up in corner, it's been pretty much on and off since day 1. I massage the bit near the eye and clean with cool boiled water when it's sticky, anyone else had this? When did it clear up? Anything else I should do?

My one has this - he's now 6 months an it weeps green gooey stuff at times...went to the dr a few months ago and he said it was a blocked year duct. Re green stuff is just snot (nice) and like you say, unless his eye gets red or looks sore it's fine - he said it can take a year to sort itself!

My son had this - I did nothing medical about it and it went away -
He had it for a long time probably until around 1 then it vanished. The doctor told me it was better to leave it but I think you can ask for antibiotics.

DD had a sort of misaligned tearduct - it didn't weep goop but it just looked quite red and wet a lot. It cleared up by the time she was one. I saw the GP only because I didn't have a clue what it was and was worried about allergies (she had bags under her eyes too which is an allergic shiner) and he happily chatted about it, said she should grow out of it but if not there is a minor operation they can do to clear it if you think it is causing enough of a problem.

It wouldn't hurt to see your GP though and just check, if it's not hard to get an appointment.

The vast majority of these sort themselves out by the time the child is a year old, so most specialists wouldn't do anything before then. It sounds like you're doing the right thing just keeping it clean as the gunk builds up. You just need to see your GP if it looks infected, otherwise there's no need for antibiotics. If it's no better as she approaches her first birthday then ask you GP for a referral to an ophthalmologist.

Are you breastfeeding? Sounds weird but my little guy had this exact same thing and I read that covering their eye in breastmilk almost like you are giving it an eyewash in it helps. I had tried cotton buds, wiping away from the corner, fresh one after every wipe etc but it didn't work after about 3 weeks it was still the same. So I tried covering it in breastmilk and it worked, I then froze some just incase it never happened again.

Ty to breastmilk in the eye, worked within 6 hours on my DS.

My DD had this for a month. It stopped when we went it MiL for the weekend and cleaned it every two hours. I used water wipes as it was the easiest thing. I was surprised that it just disappeared, and what it needed was just for me to clean it regularly

(Sorry not saying that is what is needed for your LO - I'm sure you do clean it regularly)

My LO had this, I was given antibiotic cream by the GP, this worked quickly for one eye but the other didn't clear up, not until I (somewhat sceptically) started squirting bm into it at each feed, then it cleared up within the week!

Same as Ginger, my DS had it for about 6 weeks. It went within a day or two when I was super vigilant about washing it with cooled boiled water, one wipe then throw the cotton wool away. Do this every two hours and stroke reasonably firmly from the duct down along the eye socket bone. Also, I'm not saying you're not cleaning the eye just my experience that it did go when I was on it all the time.

Yep I second what Millie3030 says try breast milk it's natures antiseptic! My DD had stick eye 2 days old..couple of drops of BM over a couple of days and it cleared up nicely.

My dd had this from birth until about 4.5 months. In hospital it was diagnosed as group g (yes, g) strep and the antibiotics she was on anyway were supposed to sort it. However, they didn't and we went through about 4 different kinds of antibiotics drops until a doctor finally did another set of swabs and found it had morphed into something else. He prescribed anther kind of drops, which really helped, but whenever she's under the weather or has a cold, she's very susceptible to it coming back.

We clean regularly (use cooled boiled water and never wipe with the same bit of cotton wool twice) and if she's still suffering with it when she's one, they'll investigate her tear ducts. I would keep going back to the doctors if I were you, as the eyes will be susceptible to infection and this can lead to further problems if not treated.

The worst thing is repeatedly having to convince her nursery that it isn't conjunctivitis!

It is probably due to a blocked tear duct which will clear itself up as the baby grows.

If it continues past 6 months, it might be worth asking your GP for a referral to get your baby's sight tested, as sometimes blocked tear ducts can be due to the eye being an irregular shape and can be associated with sight problems. (My son had this and wore glasses from 10 mo).