Dr Phil Kieran: What steps can I take to treat my toddler’s sticky eyes?
Bees When The Being Mon Reabsorbed Evaporating Tears For Is Causes Of From Most Tears " "one The Drainage Blocked, Duct Preventing Or
Sticky eyes are incredibly common in children and usually not something to worry about. One of the most common causes is when the drainage duct for tears becomes blocked, preventing tears from evaporating or being reabsorbed. We need to figure out if this could be conjunctivitis or just a sticky eye.
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the layer that covers the white part of the eye and the inside of the eyelids. It causes the white area in the eye to become red or pink and produce a lot of fluid (tears and mucus). The cause can be bacterial, viral, allergic, or irritant. Most of us are familiar with allergic or irritant conjunctivitis from hay fever. But it can also be triggered by dust getting into the eyes or other irritants such as sun cream or shampoo.
It can be a bit difficult to differentiate between viral and bacterial conjunctivitis, but what I would usually say is if the child isn’t in pain and can see well out of the eye, clean the affected eye with cooled boiled water for three to four days and if it is not improving see your GP. Bacterial conjunctivitis can be treated with antibiotic eye drops. However, viral conjunctivitis needs to settle by itself since antibiotic eye drops will not make a difference.
As with your toddler, when a child has just recovered from a respiratory infection, it is common for the lacrimal ducts (which drain tears from the eye) to become blocked. Children often develop sticky eyes while they are sick, and this can take seven to ten days after the infection has cleared to settle down.
If your toddler’s eyes are nice and white and are not painful, continue to wipe them clean. When you are doing this, a few things to note are to use a fresh piece of cotton each time you wipe, wipe from inside to out (so from the nose towards the ear), and never try to clean inside the eyelids, as this can cause damage.
You could also try an over-the-counter antihistamine in case hay fever is exaggerating the toddler’s symptoms.
If this is viral conjunctivitis, it can be pretty contagious, so after cleaning your toddler’s eyes, ensure you wash your hands before touching your face.
For anyone with a painful red eye or decreased vision, it is critical to seek medical review promptly. Conjunctivitis usually leaves the eye feeling dry, gritty, or irritated but is rarely painful. The other group that needs to be seen earlier rather than later is those who wear contact lenses, as these increase the risk of severe eye infection or damage.
If you have a question for Dr Phil Kieran, please send it to parenting@examiner.ie