Yikes.
My 4 3/4 year old just started a round of antibiotics. Took her in yesterday and the doc said she had an eye infection, nose infection, AND ear infection. This started 3 days ago and moved in fast.
So. She's taken care of now and should start improving within the next day.
Me? Not so much. My eyes are ITCHY this morning. Granted, I'm a person who hears the words "itch" and starts a-scratching, so I'm probably just making it up.
Better safe than sorry. Do you know of any home remedies for a bacterial eye infection? I'd like to lick this before it becomes more of an issue.
Just allergies, as it turns out. Thanks!
They say wet tea bags, but you can buy over the counter eye drops. There a couple of different types. One is specifically for pink eye. Try Walgreens or CVS.
This is your eye we are talking about, right? Infections can adversely affect your sight---sometimes permanently. I'd consult your Dr. if any redness, discharge, or pain develops and skip any home remedies. Nurse Midwife Mom
You can heal pink eye with Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Clean out your bathroom sink, put in some warm water and some Johnson's Baby Shampoo and take a clean washcloth, wrung out in the watre /shampoo mix and clean out your eye. Hold the lid open and get the inside of the upper and lower lid. Do this a couple of times a day until the eye feels better.
If you wear eye make-up -- do not use the same (or contaminated) make-up on your good eye. Once the infection is cleared up make sure you buy new eye make-up and toss the old.
Hey, Ephie!
I'm so sorry to hear your little one is ill and hope she'll be feeling better soon!
Now...for the eye thing.
I went to the pharmacy because I was getting what I thought was a stye on my eye. I've had styes before and they itch like crazy. However, the pharmacist took one look at me and said it wasn't a stye, it was infection. He told me to use neosporin. I looked at him like he was insane. Hello!!! It says right on the box "KEEP AWAY FROM YOUR EYES". I bought stye medicine anyway and left.
Two days later, my eye was worse. I went to a different pharmacy and the pharmacist had an absolute FIT when I told them what the first pharmacist said. I left not buying anything. My doctor couldn't get me in for a week and urgent care was a 40 minute drive in one direction, not to mention the fact that by now I had one eye swollen shut.
The next morning, it was in my other eye. I was crying because I was so miserable.
I told my son to get the triple antibiotic cream out of the first aid kid because at that point, I really didn't care if I went blind. I was desperate.
I did exactly what the first pharmacist had told me and the next day, my eyes were so much better. Within two days, they were completely cleared up. I could have saved myself all that suffering.
You want just plain triple antibiotic cream (Neosporin, but it doesn't have to be brand name). Don't use anything that has anti-itch or any bells and whistles, just the plain stuff. Put some on a Q-tip, CLOSE YOUR EYE, rub the Q-tip in the inner corner of your eye and along the lash line. You can slather it on pretty well. Keep your eye closed as long as you can. Blot a little if it's goopy. No need to rub the neosporin off.
Since I had it in both eyes, I just put the cream on and laid down with my eyes closed for a while, but with a sick little one, you might just do one eye at a time.
I am promising you, I felt relief almost immediately. It really worked and no, I didn't go blind or anything.
Thoughts and well wishes to you!
Be sure to let me know how you're doing.
:)
chamomile tea works great. we had a round of pink eye here and within a day or two it was gone using the tea as an eye wash (as often as they'll let you do it) completely natural. i would be pretty freaked out about putting neosporin or baby shampoo in my eyes. (yes i realize that others do it and it's harmless...still...i have heard that the baby shampoo is only "tearless" because they put something in it so that you don't feel all the chemicals burning. just saying.) luckily i never had to try those because the tea works great.
If the Johnson' Baby Shampoo doesn't work, please call your child's doctor and tell him that you have caught her eye infection, and can he call in eye drops that you can use? I'll bet he would be willing to do that for you since you already paid for an office visit. I wouldn't let it go long - the longer you go, the less willing he may be to just call in the prescription.
So sorry!!!!
Dawn
I honestly don't know if this is true or not, but I was told by our pediatrician when my baby was little that eye infections are NOT dangerous - and that they can NOT cause permanent damage.......and that they CAN go away on their own. Massaging the tear ducts help as they get clogged easily...FREQUENT handwashing so as not to transmit the germs.
So what happened?
I don't think there's any way to know if it's a bacterial infection or a viral infection. I would would take vitamin c (for good measure) don't touch your eyes and wash your hands a lot. It ought to go away on its own.
Baby shampoo? Tea bags? Neosporin? An infection requires a professional diagnosis and possibly antibiotics. See your doctor (not your child's doctor as someone recommended -- your child's doctor has no business calling in a prescription for you -- you're not his or her patient, your child is). Please don't try to self-treat this; your sight is too valuable to trust to home remedies. Yes, I know baby shampoo can clean eyes and we've done it, and you can try that for today--but get to your doctor tomorrow.
Eye infections are EXTREMELY contagious so you really need to see your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment. Otherwise, you could easily pass it back to your daughter and anyone else living in the house and anyone you come into contact with.
