Conjunctivitis in 4 Year Old

COnjunctivitis is usually connected with a cold - the child gets germs on his hands, rubs his eyes, and bingo - infection. It could be viral or bacterial. It could also be an allergy. No one else is getting it, but you are being very vigilant to wash everything.

You're tried all the remedies, but those are after the fact. Have you considered prevention? A children's nutritional product that supports the immune system would make sense. The top product out there is Reliv. I would be happy to give you more info. No kids that I know get conjunctivitis, flu or strep if they are on Reliv. It's patented, and completely safe - no warning labels on anything, which you can't say about even kiddie vitamins. It's from a fine and honored company, and it's the sensible and successful way to go!

C.,

It sounds like he is somewhere outside the home during the day since you work full time. Can he be picking it up there maybe?? My kids are usually home with me, but they pick things up at preschool and the gym. So the "germs" that he is picking up may not be in the home?

Just a thought.

H. Z. (SAHM 5, 4 and 16 month old boys)

Sounds like you are pretty good at identifying conjunctivis - my kids hate the drops too - but let me just add that just because he woke up with crusty eyes doesn't always mean conjunctivitis. One of my kids almost always has crusty eyes - but only a bit, and once wiped away, nothing comes back. I myself get crusty eyes overnight. So just want to make sure you are not overdiagnosing?
One tip for putting in the drops. Have him lie down and close his eyes. Put the drop on his closed eyelid in the corner, near the tear duct. Then have him open his eyes - the drops should go in.

I agree that maybe it's not conjunctivitis?? If it spreads through the house, then I guess it is. But if no one else gets it, maybe it's an allergy or a plugged tear duct that gets aggravated if he's got a head cold. If he rubs his eyes a lot, he could get a tiny bit of debris and scratch the eye, resulting in an infection that looks and feels like conjunctivitis, but isn't contagious (I had an awful case as a teen from ill-fitting contact lenses). Maybe visit an opthlamologist who can rule out any eye problems?

Hi C.,
I know how frustrating conjunctivitis can be because I work in a day care center and we deal with it all the time. I would call the doctor and have him checked again to see if it is really conjunctivitis and not a blocked tear duct or something else instead. There is also two kinds of conjunctivitis, bacterial and viral. Viral cannot be fixed by medication drops at all. Goopy eyes can also be allergies too. If it is conjunctivitis then I suggest asking for the ointment. It is a bit harder to put in sometimes, but it is thicker than the drops and it stays in the eyes better. I find that it cures conjunctivitis a lot faster from my experiences.
Good luck!
C.

Have you tried the ointment instead? It will cling and if you put it on at night before bed, at least it'll have time to work. It is a pain, iknow! Good luck!

I was just at the dr for this myself and he told warm compresses in the morning and didnt prescribe me any drops because it was viral not bacteria. If it follows a cold ore sore throat its probably safe to assume its viral. It may not be pink eye it could be something else. Also his ear infection could have been very well a virus which is why he had pink eye with it. I have never tried it but my neighbor claims that a few drops of warm milk in your eye clears up pink eye better than anything something to do with the enzymes in it and the warmth helps sooth it this is what she does w/ her kids my kids rarely get it so like I said I never tried it but I'm sure you can find out a lot of info if you google pink eye. Good luck

I agree w/ PP...maybe not conjunctivis & if it is, most likely viral rather than bacterial if drops didn't clear it up. If it is a viral infection (& it's really hard for even Docs to tell), then a warm wet facecloth to wipe goopy eyes & cleaning everything (as you've been doing)are your best bets. If you feel like the drops are helpful & want to continue with them...what we always did with our DS1 was tell a story that involved some animal creature (him) who needed a magical something or other (the medicine). Once the difficult thing was couched in the form of a story, it would completely transform his attitude toward it. If stories aren't your boy's thing, perhaps a silly song about the drops? Try & find the way to make it playful rather than hard. good luck!

I don't know if you have access to a nursing mom, but breastmilk (a few drops in the eye) clears up pinkeye super fast!

I actually read somewhere when dealing with conjunctivitis that 95% of the time it is viral, so you really shouldn't need drops. My son had it one time that he had the gross icky discharge and the dr. cultured it so we knew it was bacterial and he actually gave an antibiotic by mouth as it was a pretty resistant type of bacteria. I would just be really vigilant about handwashing and changing sheets, blankets and pillowcases. I would definitely check into the daycare and make sure they are taking measures there to control outbreaks.

Are you sure it is conjuctivitis and not an allergy? Seems odd that he continues to get it but no one else in the family does (has he ever spread it to anyone?). I know an allergy can sometimes looks similar, maybe get a second opinion? My eyes crust up every night because of my allergies and how much they water when I'm sleeping. Just a thought.

i havent had to deal with conjuntivitis since my daughter was about a yr and a half... she kept getting it because her tear ducts were blocked... the doctor would give me the oinment instead of the drops because she would fight the drops so bad..
now whenever there is anything worng that doesnt seem to serious i check out www.webmd.com