Techniques for getting breastmilk in the eyes?

[evening start]

My mom always put breast milk in our eyes when we got pink eye, so when DS's eyes were a little goopy this morning, I figured I would just squirt some milk in them at the next feeding. I let him suck until there was let down, then I tried to drop/squirt milk into his eyes. It was pretty unsuccessful -- I got milk all over his face, but very little in the eyes because he wouldn't keep them open and I couldn't "aim" the breast and hold his eye open very well (he's a wiggly boy). He was also greatly displeased that I had taken the boob away and was squirting him in the face. He seemed to think that was a very unmotherly thing for me to do. Does anyone have a better technique for getting breast milk into their eyes? Should I express the breast milk into a bowl and drop in into the eye with a syringe or dropper? That seems like a lot of trouble to go to, but maybe more accurate.

[gracemamma]

Your idea sounds pretty accurate to me. When my DD woke with a swollen & pink eye, I squirted milk above her eye (nipple on eyelid) & a couple drops went in. Her eye looked normal again in less than 30 minutes & my husband was convinced by the magical healing powers of breastmilk!

[Limabean1975]

I have yet to try the eyedropper method, but I'm pretty darn sure that would be a hundred times easier than the straight-from-the-nipple method. I've been just as unsuccessful as you - the eyedropper idea only occurred to me recently.

[Blueone]

I squeeze a few drops onto my finger and place them in the corner of his eye. That works pretty well!

[wombatclay]

DD2 had a chronic plugged duct for a year so I did the breastmilk thing almost every day. My technique was to nurse her to sleep. Once she was asleep I'd twist her onto her back and kind of drip over her eye till the eye socket was a puddle. Then I'd either massage the duct or just pull very gently on the edge of her eyelid to get the milk into the eye.

Trying the awake eye squirt was always a mistake for me!

[momofabby]

Originally Posted by evening start

Should I express the breast milk into a bowl and drop in into the eye with a syringe or dropper? That seems like a lot of trouble to go to, but maybe more accurate.

That's what I did. Of course I was treating my 8 & 10 year olds and didn't think they'd appreciate a boob in the eye. It really was no trouble-definitely more accurate!

[jimblejamble]

I have quite a bit of milk and leak almost every time I feed Jude, so I'll jus let some milk drop onto my finger and thrn put it in his eye.

[Chamomile Girl]

Originally Posted by evening start

He was also greatly displeased that I had taken the boob away and was squirting him in the face. He seemed to think that was a very unmotherly thing for me to do.

I'm sorry, but the mental picture I got of this is hilarious!

[Carhootel]

great ideas here! I've always just squirted it all over his face until there's enough in his eye to make me happy. He usually ends up with an entire face covered in breastmilk but hey, it's cute and I've got some really funny pictures of him with lines of milk over his face from my squirting. I suck at aiming my milk

[jrabbit]

my aim is pretty pathetic, too. Zoe had goopy eyes for 4 days in a row - stuck closed in the mornings. I finally remembered to try breastmilk ... she was very irritated that I was wasting milk on her face ... and when I tried to aim, she moved her face so it would squirt in her mouth instead if her eye.

Next morning, goop gone!!! I repeated the treatment 3 days in a row, just in case, but I only did it ONE time each day. I got enough milk on her face that she would rub it into her eye herself.

--janis

[slimkins]

No help here... just wanted to share my chuckle to your story.

[Mom2M]

DD had a really yucky looking eye with gunk coming out all the time and crusting and red and swollen. The dr saw it and prescribed something because he said it looked like that wasn't going to just go away with warm water and massage.

Well, I pumped a bottle and took a washcloth dipped in milk and washed her eye a couple times. It cleared right up! The dr saw her again the next day and said wow, those drops really worked! I said well, actually I never got them...

I don't think I could ever successfully squirt, lol. I plan on pumping a few ounces every couple days to build up a stash for future problems!

[wombatclay]

The opthamologist we saw with dd2 gave us a 'script for antibiotic drops but told us to use breastmilk every time we nursed and only use the drops in certain specific cases (infections with swollen socket for example).