Yikes!

[dianat]

My two-year-old was diagnosed today with conjunctivitis/pinkeye. He eye has looked off for a few days now. The redness is confined to the nasal corner of his eye. It's quite red when you peek below is lower lid.

With my cauterized and weepy eyes, how is it that I don't have this yet?! Nobody in the family has their hands as close to their eyes all day as I do.

D

[Lucy]

Hi Di! Maybe it just hasn't shown up yet on you? Hopefully, the whole family will be exempt. Have plenty of the hand sanitizer stuff around the house.

I was at my rueumatologists office one day and I saw a young Mom with 5 (count em) kids! One was a baby in a car carrier and the oldest probably 7. As soon as she and all the kids came in and were sitting down, she went down the line with her bottle of hand sanitizer giving each kid a squirt and they knew what to do. (Not the baby.) I thought--how organized! And how tired.

Lucy

[dianat]

Lucy,

The doctor started Matt on Tobradex four times a day. It must be a riot watching me wrestle him to get the drops in. I honestly don't think he has pinkeye. I have a guess, since he has a very distinct spot on his eye that is surrounded by some redness. His whole eye is not affected. It looks to me like he may have injured his eye somehow...probably with his fingernail while he was sucking his thumb. Either way, it's a bit infected and needs to be treated since it's not healing on its own.

It's funny you mention the hand sanitizer. We don't use it often...I think I had one bottle in my diaper bag. I generally would rather use soap and water. But in a pinch it's helpful.

So yesterday at the doctors office, Matthew's running around the waiting room and he started playing with the Kleenex box. Totally disgusted by that, I squirted some hand sanitizer on him from a bottle near the reception desk. At the same time he was rubbing his hands together, the receptionist said to him, "Are you having trouble with your eye today, Matthew?" Naturally, he stopped what he was doing, said, "Eye," and proceeded to stick his finger (sanitizer and all) right into his eye.

Fortunately, I saw this coming before it happened and grabbed his hand away from his face. He didn't actually get sanitizer in his eye. But it was soooo close!

[liz56]

Diane,

I really hope that he does not have pink eye. Could he have bumped it, causing the redness? That sure is what it sounds like, because pink eye is red and inflamed all over, at least the two times I've seen people with it.

Good luck!

[shells]

Oh no, poor Matthew! Whatever he has, I hope that it goes away quickly, and before you catch it.

-Shells

[dianat]

The truth is, his eye isn't bothering him at all. He doesn't rub it or complain. He does know the word "hurt" and isn't using it in reference to his eye. My strong guess is that his fingernail scratched it and it's mildly infected. He's a thumb addict and his fingers are often spread all over his face. His nails are also a bit too long, of course.

I'm convinced, however, that after one day of antibiotic drops that it could be easier to castrate a bull in heat than put eye drops in a two-year-old. It's like he turns into an octopus. It's so impressively difficult it's hilarious to watch.

(Are bulls always in heat?)

[Lucy]

Bulls don't go in heat, Diana. Have you ever seen a bull castrated?
Just wondering.
Lucy

[dianat]

I guess bulls are always...ready. Females go into heat. Never saw a bull castrated, but I've seen a two year old fight eye drops. It's very similar.

[Zarla]

Maybe if you are already using regular anti-biotic eye treatments for dry eye they are protecting you from picking up your son's eye infection?

[dianat]

That would make sense, but I don't use an antibiotic. I think his diagnosis was wrong and he's fine now. Pinkeye is, in fact, common right now in our community I am told.