any conjunctivitis experts out there?

[mtemm]

on friday my twins (age 2) speech pathologist came with only a small bag of toys. one of her other clients had conjunctivitis and she had only had time to bleach the ones she brought. anyway, katie and andrew played with them and all was well. dh ended up taking katie to the dr. a couple of hour later for a suspected ear infection, but at that point nothing else was wrong.

saturday morning katie woke up screaming with her eye crusted shut. greg washed it with a washcloth, and we noticed one eye was a wee bit pink. not too bad, and not the whole white but definitely pink. last night she woke up hysterical at midnight, both eyes crusted shut, I dabbed with a wet washcloth and she went back to sleep. today both eyes are mildly pink, again, not the whole white, but part of it.

is this conjunctivitis? we've never had to deal with it, so I'm not sure. If yes, what are we supposed to do? should we call her doctor? can it wait until tomorrow? what will they do for her? any chance it will just clear up on its own?

 

[geffric]

Sorry this is happening to you. but no It won't clear up on its own.Take you child to the doctor and get it diagnosed; when my kids had it ( from the community pool) I had drops for each child. Was told it is highly contagious and to change the pillow case and towels and face cloth after each use. wash them with hot water. Don't cross contiminate that is use seperate things for each eye.

 

[EthansMom]

Sounds like conjuctivitis. Get the kids to the ped or call and ask the ped to call in drops. It's highly contagious! Don't be surprised if you and DH get it also.

 

[ntburns22]

Sorry this is happening to you. but no It won't clear up on its own.Take you child to the doctor and get it diagnosed; when my kids had it ( from the community pool) I had drops for each child. Was told it is highly contagious and to change the pillow case and towels and face cloth after each use. wash them with hot water. Don't cross contiminate that is use seperate things for each eye.

Yep what geffric said. DD had it a couple weeks ago. Stress hand washing. I made DD do this a lot I manged not to get it too for the first time.

 

[*Fantasia*]

I think my daughter has this too. Her eye is pink yesterday, and today it is still pink, and her eye is watery. I was thinking maybe she might have scratched her cornea and it is irritated. I wanted to take her to Lenscrafters, but I don't feel good today. If her eye is still pink tomorrow, I will definitely take her to the Optometrist and see what they can do for her, this mean she won't be going to school tomorrow.

How long does it last? I know it's very contagious. I have a wet cold towel over her eye to soothe her eye, and that didn't work as far as the pink eye, but she said it feels good.

 

[EthansMom]

I think my daughter has this too. Her eye is pink yesterday, and today it is still pink, and her eye is watery. I was thinking maybe she might have scratched her cornea and it is irritated. I wanted to take her to Lenscrafters, but I don't feel good today. If her eye is still pink tomorrow, I will definitely take her to the Optometrist and see what they can do for her, this mean she won't be going to school tomorrow.

How long does it last? I know it's very contagious. I have a wet cold towel over her eye to soothe her eye, and that didn't work as far as the pink eye, but she said it feels good.

Usually, with pink eye, the eye is very itchy and uncomfortable (like having sand constantly in your eye). Also, in the morning, the eye will be goopy or crusty... when DD had pink eye, her eyes got goopy in the corner more than the usual amount. When I got pink eye as a child, I woke up one morning with my eyes glued shut from dried up pus.

What you're describing doesn't necessarily sound like pink eye. It may be that DD just has an irritated eye. If you suspect pink eye, take her to the pediatrician or to a walk-in clinic, not Lenscrafters.

Pink eye lasts until it is fully-treated. Left untreated, pink eye can lead to blindness, so it isn't something to mess around with.

 

[shovan]

There is an over the counter eye drop in the drugstores. I think it's called Pink Eye Relief. It worked for my niece in one day. You could try it, if it doesn't clear up quickly though I'd get her to the doctor.

 

[Missy Mouse]

on friday my twins (age 2) speech pathologist came with only a small bag of toys. one of her other clients had conjunctivitis and she had only had time to bleach the ones she brought. anyway, katie and andrew played with them and all was well. dh ended up taking katie to the dr. a couple of hour later for a suspected ear infection, but at that point nothing else was wrong.

saturday morning katie woke up screaming with her eye crusted shut. greg washed it with a washcloth, and we noticed one eye was a wee bit pink. not too bad, and not the whole white but definitely pink. last night she woke up hysterical at midnight, both eyes crusted shut, I dabbed with a wet washcloth and she went back to sleep. today both eyes are mildly pink, again, not the whole white, but part of it.

is this conjunctivitis? we've never had to deal with it, so I'm not sure. If yes, what are we supposed to do? should we call her doctor? can it wait until tomorrow? what will they do for her? any chance it will just clear up on its own?

If it's true conjunctivitis the eyes will appear weepy, and you may notice green goop or crust. It will not clear on its own and RAPIDLY spreads. It's also painful. She will probably get something like an erythromycin ointment/drops, depending on whether or not it's bacterial. I wouldn't wait, it really does hurt.