Ok, so I have read the conjunctivitis threads but am I doing this right... - Pregnancy, Birth & Baby Forums ~ BellyBelly

tk1999 · #1 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 08:48 PM

DD has a gunky eye... her left eye came out in this kind of light green gunk this afternoon. I squirted a few drops of BM into it and got a soft tissue (we didn't have cotton balls at the time) to wipe away the gunk that came out.

Since then it has become a lot more gunky so I searched BB and saw suggestions about BM, cooled boiled water, teas etc.

We just wiped her eyes with the cooled boiled water on cotton balls (DP went and got some) and used a new one with each wipe. Then I expressed some BM onto a new cotton ball and wiped it over her eye as she is asleep and I don't want to open her eye to squirt it in there.

Is what I am doing right? Is that how I 'apply' the BM and the cooled boiled water.

I have rung my friend as we were visiting her and her 4yo DS today to let them know in case they get it and I am about to ring my family as we were over there this afternoon... anyone else I should contact? ie how far back could DD have had this?

Thanks in advance ladies

~Kim~ · #2 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 08:52 PM

Yep, sounds pretty good to me. I just give Nate a squirt every time he has a feed. Lol poor little guy is used to it now, but nothing else keeps the gunk away....
As for contacting heaven only knows when she got it. I think you just about have it covered hun.
Hope she's better soon.

olive · #3 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 08:54 PM

i wipe the eye with salty water then squirt away with the BM!!

sounds like your doing fab! when she wakes wash again then squirt into her open eye, ive been doing my 3 yr old but ive been expressing then syringing it in

jasp · #4 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 08:57 PM

I squirt over the top of her eye then let it run in, then wipe it off with a tissue once it's gotten into the eye.... a bit messy, but as with the others, I think she's used to it now!
I try to do it at every feed.

tk1999 · #5 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 09:04 PM

Thanks ladies!

What do I do overnight? She isn't always waking through the night and you can bet that because I want her to wake tonight (so I can squirt her eye) she will sleep through... should I set an alarm and do a wipe over?

jasp · #6 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 09:26 PM

I wouldn't, if it's not too bad... I don't usually do DD's through the night even when she wakes, I leave it until the morning.
If it looks really gunky right now you could just wipe it over but if it's not too bad I'd leave it

~Kim~ · #7 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 09:31 PM

naaah, I wouldn't. Nate's get pretty bad, but doesn't seem to bother him overnight.

tk1999 · #8 (**permalink**) October 30th, 2009, 09:36 PM

Thanks ladies!!

tk1999 · #9 (**permalink**) October 31st, 2009, 10:51 AM

I am thinking maybe it is not conjunctivitis... DD has no gunk this morning - she had a gunky crusty bit where 'sleep' would normally be and her eyelashes had some gunk crust in it but no more gunk since she woke...

I have squirted it when we woke and again since then.

Would it go away this quickly? Could it just have been something in her eye?

It was a pink yesterday and swollen... today it is only slightly pink and still a tad swollen and my last question (well for this post anyway LOL) is do I have to take her to a doctor? or will BM be enough to clean it with?

~Kim~ · #10 (**permalink**) October 31st, 2009, 12:10 PM

she might have a bit of a blocked duct. This is what Nate has and it's especially bad when his nose is snotty.

tk1999 · #11 (**permalink**) October 31st, 2009, 12:17 PM

I have been massaging the area to the left of her nose and near the corner of her eye in case it was a blocked tear duct - her nose hasn't been overly snotty... she did have some dried mucus in there but it hasn't been runny or anything like that

The swelling seems mainly to be on the eyelid... her dad gets gunky eyes due to hayfever and I am now wondering if she will also get it... there was a bit of pollen around yesterday and we were outside at my friends house

Argh... I never realised that figuring out what is wrong could/would be so hard

Saffi · #12 (**permalink**) October 31st, 2009, 12:33 PM

tk - we had the same thing with Immi and Dr thought was a blocked tear duct. With the recent dust storms there is a lot of stuff in the air. Just keep doing what you have been and if it doesn't clear soon go to the Dr for some drops.

Snacks · #13 (**permalink**) October 31st, 2009, 12:56 PM

Could be a blocked duct or could be that she gave her eye a little scratch and it got a bit inflamed. When they rub their eyes so much it's easy for the eye to get a little scratch on it.
Glad it is looking better at any rate!

tk1999 · #14 (**permalink**) November 5th, 2009, 08:36 AM

Hi everyone - another eye question from me... the gunk went away for a few days and the eye was clear but she had a little bit of gunk when she woke up from a sleep. So I stopped squirting every few hours and only squirted if there was gunk that needed softening before we could wipe it away.

But this morning when she woke up the gunk was right across her eyelid - she was able to open the eye herself and then I squirted BM into her eye to soften up other parts and then wiped it clear...

Should I return to the every feed squirt or should I take her to a doctor for some drops?

jasp · #15 (**permalink**) November 5th, 2009, 01:02 PM

We are in the same boat here - I could have written your post

I'm going back to squirting every feed for a couple of days, I'll keep doing it for a bit after it clears up then if it still comes back I'll get the drops.
I think I just stopped too soon, kwim?
The BM definitely helps so I'm happy to keep trying that at least over the weekend.

Is it really gucky? AR's is more like sleep just that it's in one eye...

tk1999 · #16 (**permalink**) November 5th, 2009, 01:22 PM

it is very much like sleep but it is a slightly more green in colour than her sleep had been... so it is hard to tell if it is just sleep or if it is gunk...

She just woke up and there was no gunk again. I think I will keep the BM up at every feed

Hope your DDs eyes clear soon

jasp · #17 (**permalink**) November 5th, 2009, 01:50 PM

Yep, it does sound very much the same. I think if the BM will work I'd rather stick with that.

hope your DD's clear up soon too!

Janie · #18 (**permalink**) November 5th, 2009, 03:03 PM

If you think it's conjunctivitis, I'd stick with the BM. It usually works better! And it's much more gentle, the drops really sting. I don't know much about blocked ducts, but conjunctivitis can be mild, and it's often persistent, severe or not. Keep up the BM for another couple of days, and if you're still having a problem, then get it checked out