My Son's Pinkeye Won't Go Away for More than a Week

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You need to change your son's pillow. Sheets, towels, wash clothes, etc. EVERYTHING including stuffed animals, pajama's etc. need to be washed in HOT water. and dried in a HOT drier.

that will get rid of the virus that is around the house.

wash EVERYTHING he has touched with bleach or a strong antibacterial - door knobs, toilet knobs, shower knobs, cabinets, etc. so the germs are basically killed.

If his pink eye is viral, medication only treats the symptoms. When you stop the medication, if the infection is still there, the symptoms return. I suggest you stay with one doctor to keep treatment congruent. The doctor will get to know you and your son and be better able to help.

Have you asked the doctor what to do next? If not, call his office.

If just one eye is affected it's not likely to be an allergy. Infections in the eye cause lge amounts of sticky goop stuff to be on the eyeball under the lid. His eye would most liky be crusted with the eyelids stuck shot when he wakes up. I suggest if the only symptom is a red eye something else may be going on.

Over the years, I've had and seen pink eye. Those of us having it do not go to the doctor because it is caused by a virus and unresponsive to anti-biotics. Our treatment is to use a warm washcloth to soften and wipe away the crusty stuff. Then to put a warm washcloth on the eye during the day as a compress. The eye does mostly clear up in a few days tho the eye may still be red. Getting the red out takes a few more days. However, the eye may never stay clear if one has allergies. Again, both eyes respond to allergies. For me and my grandaughter our eyes water and nose runs causing us to use multiple tissues. My eye itches much more with allegeries than with pink eye.

If there is no thick stuff in the eye, I suggest it's not pink eye. Could his eyes be irritated by wind, dust, cleaning chemicals? Our eyes are sensitive to many things and will get red. Does your son rub his eye? Allergens can be on his fingers and irritate his eye. Just rubbing it can make it red.

Another thought is he reinfects himself. Pink eye is contagious and if he uses the same towels and washcloths that have not been washed in hot water and dried in a dryer or the sun since he had pink eye he could be reinfected. Same with using pillowcases that haven't been washed. I don't know how long the virus is alive when left on surfaces.

Have you taken him to an allergist (a real specialist in allergies, not just a pediatrician), or an opthamologist? It's imperative that you don't take him to an optometrist, who specializes in vision correction, but to an opthamologist, who specializes in eye diseases.

If you take him to an allergist, there are three levels of testing. One is a quick blood test, which tests for about 26 common food allergies. One is skin prick testing which tests for environmentals (trees, grasses, pets, dust mites, flowers, weeds, etc). The third tests for earth compounds (metals, things that naturally occur in soils and rocks, additives in medications and cleansers and shampoos and soaps and sanitizers, antibiotics and antibacterials and antifungals and perservatives, fragrances, etc). It's called patch testing.

If your son's doctor is saying he may have allergies, it's important to get to the bottom of this.

And while you're waiting for an appointment with an opthamologist or allergist, keep a detailed food journal and a detailed log of his activities (does he walk through a park to get to school, does he play baseball on a particular field, do you have pets, etc).

I'm sorry your son is going through this. Pink eye is no fun at all.

I read what others have said. Wild Woman said to clean everything, yes, that needs to be done too. But she didn't mention that his nails should be clipped and under his fingernails scrubbed to remove any bacteria that is there. We forget that we wash our hands, but forget that our fingernails hold a lot of unseen germs.

I hope he's healthy soon!poor guy!~

I've never heard of pinkeye being treated in a single treatment. Usually it's ongoing for several days, often a week. We've always been given erythromycin eye ointment.

Conjunctivitis is very contagious, so it's possible that he's touching his eyes (because they are itchy, the poor kid) and then touching something else, then reinfecting himself. He needs to have totally separate towels and washcloths, his pillowcase and bedding need to be washed, and you all have to engage in serious, regular hand washing. He should also stay away from other kids while he is still contagious - kids can pass this back and forth.

This is a really good site (web MD safe) to explain the different causes of pink eye.

http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/ss/slideshow-pinkeye

The treatment depends on if it's bacterial, virus or allergy related. Here's what they say:

Bacterial pinkeye is treated with antibiotic eyedrops, ointment, or pills to clear the infection. Most viral pinkeye cases have no specific treatment -- you just have to let the virus run its course, which is usually four to seven days. Allergic pinkeye symptoms should improve once the allergen source is removed and the allergy itself is treated. Chemical pinkeye requires prompt washing of the affected eye(s) for five minutes and an immediate call to the doctor.

If you didn't try allergy pills, then maybe you should ask if you can give your son some Benedryl, etc.

Good luck :)

He's reinfecting himself somehow. Wash all that he touches on a regular basis. Spray door knobs, faucet handles, doors in the vehicles, etc...anything he touches with his skin, with Lysol spray.