Is this an eye infection?

[Lacrymosa]

Ever since yesterday, Asia's left eye has been SUPER watery and has green/yellow gunk in it that gets all in her eyelashes and just looks gross and uncomfortable... I'm not sure if it's a clogged tear duct or an eye infection. I've been getting one of her wash rags wet with warm water and wiping it as carefully as I can, but should I be taking her in to the pediatricion?

[Koalamom]

Sounds like what my ds had. I tried the breastmilk in the eye and it actually seemed to make it worse. But what finally cleared it up was making some chamomille tea and putting the warm (not hot) tea bag on his eye. I did it twice and the eye is all better now.

[mamaheids]

Goopy eye here too! I squirted BM in it this AM, and it is a little better tonight.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Breast milk very helpful.

[LilWin]

DS2 also has it, one eye cleared up but the other one is still messy. I was told to clean it with boiled (cold!) water on a cotton ball or piece of gauze several times a day, and that works well. Just the side he sleeps on most takes longer to clear up.

[adoremybabe]

Just make sure that when you use a washcloth, you don't wipe with the same spot twice and you use a clean cloth everytime.

[Mamatoabunch]

Both of Finnian's eyes were goopy, now just one. It is clogged tear ducts.

[wombatclay]

DD2 had a blocked duct in one eye till just shy of a year (we were actually considering surgery since a duct that doesn't clear by a year probably wont on it's own) so we got to talk with a lot of people about baby eyes!

We were told to try a warm damp cloth (hold over the eye like a compress for a moment, always wipe away from the inner corner, always use a clean portion of cloth each pass... water or herbal tea are the most common liquid suggestions), to squirt breastmilk in the eye with every feed, and to massage along the side of the nose/inner corner of the eye to encourage draining. Yellow or green gummy crusts or floaters on the eye were "ok".

An infection (more common in kiddos with plugged ducts) involved the whites of the eye looking red or streaked with red, the eyelid and eye socket getting swollen/inflamed, or the eye socket looking almost 'bruised" in addition to the "normal" crustiness and dripping. If the infection didn't respond to breastmilk we had to get abx eye drops.

Anyway... plugged ducts are very common in infants and generally clear on their own, so unless your babes eyes get red/swollen/weepy/itchy it's probably ok to just treat with breastmilk and a warm compress. But if you're worried or it gets worse, your care provider should be able to rule out other problems.

[Mamatoabunch]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

DD2 had a blocked duct in one eye till just shy of a year (we were actually considering surgery since a duct that doesn't clear by a year probably wont on it's own)

Yes, Balen's were clogged until 11 months. Then just clear one day.

[wombatclay]

Funky!

I forget the exact numbers the ped opthamologist gave us, but something like 90% clear on their own by a year. At that point though the numbers flip flop and only a small percentage will clear on their own... it's not a huge deal to leave the duct blocked but there is a higher chance of eye problems and corrective surgery done after about 18-20 months often needs to be re-done a few times before it "takes" (simple procedure, but most often done under general so there are risks). They really "push" surgery between 12 months and 18 months and I am so glad we didn't have to make a decision on it.

Oh, homeopathic pulsatilla worked wonders on her plugged duct if you have any around the house!