Need the Scoop Re: Pinkeye HELP!!

[Super~Single~Mama]

So....the day has come.  Pinkeye came home from the daycare.  I don't want to get it, so while I eat I'm refusing to touch DS.  Of course, he's screaming blue murder (see the thread in GD) b/c the very second he absolutely is DYING to have ME paying attention to him, is the very second that I sit down with hot food.

I know that needing to eat a hot meal at night makes me a bad mommy b/c I should be devoting ever second to my DS (who has pinkeye I'm pretty sure), but I MUST eat before I start screaming right back at him.  So, I'm eating, and he's screaming.  No big surprise, since he refuses to eat tonight.

Anyway, whats the deal with pinkeye?  How long until he's not contagious?  We cosleep - am I going to get it?  I REALLY don't want it!  He has a Dr appointment tomorrow AM, but I'm probably going to miss the whole day of work.  Will he be able to go back to daycare Thursday?  Or should I get his dad to take off? 

Ugh.  This is not fun.

[Chamomile Girl]

I had pinkeye in both eyes a couple of years ago and once I started using the medicated drops it healed up in a few days.  By healed up I mean that I could actually bear to be in a lit room again and my eyes were no longer glued shut at night. They were blood red for about another week though.

Pinkeye sucks.

Now whenever I start to get any sort of itchy-scratchy feeling in my eyes I do a wash with Herb Pharm's Rue-Fennel blend.  I do.not.mess.around. anymore. Rue-Fennel is good stuff to have around, and you can use it as a precautionary measure while you treat your kid.  I tried to treat my pinkeye (which was a seriously nasty case granted) with silver drops and with homeopathic stuff with no success...so I would skip those and go straight for the Herb Pharm.

I've been reading about your screaming kid in your other thread...oy mama!  That has to be maddening. He is close to the same age as my LO and if my kid did that I think I would want to sell him to the Circus.  Actually I kind of want to anyway for other reasons .

[dejagerw]

Are you still nursing? Breast milk is great for pink eye. I say start treating your eyes as preventive treatment. The more often the better. Unfortunately, pink eye is very contagious. Everyone had it at my house just a couple weeks ago. To try to avoid getting it, try at all costs to avoid touching your eyes. Change bed linens (or at least pillowcases) daily. Change towels daily. Use dedicated towels for those with pink eye. Wash hands after dealing with LO's eye goop or other bodily fluids. But really, you can do all this, and still get it. (I'm proof of that). One sneeze and your LO can give you pink eye.

But really, the breast milk is great for pink eye.

[Super~Single~Mama]

DS stopped nursing right around his 2nd b-day (self weaned), but I still have some milk (like.....tiny drops if I try to get some) - should I treat my own eyes with it?  How?  I'm pretty new to this.  I'm going to try and see my Dr tomorrow too, and see if she will give me the anti-biotics as a precaution (we're not so crunchy here) cause I really really don't want it!!!!  He will be going to his dad's on Thursday morning, so I only have to make it to then without getting it.

Ick.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl 

I've been reading about your screaming kid in your other thread...oy mama!  That has to be maddening. He is close to the same age as my LO and if my kid did that I think I would want to sell him to the Circus.  Actually I kind of want to anyway for other reasons .

OH yeah, we've thought about the circus route too.  Only half jokingly too.  He's a bit of an interesting kiddo - but we love him!

[parisferris]

Good luck mama! That doesn't sound fun at all! If you have it on hand, another addition to both the anti-bacterial drops that the doc typically prescribes (or for prevention, or for if your eyes get itchy or crusty) is to wash your eyes (and your little one's) with tear free shampoo a few times a day. Our pediatrician strongly suggested that we do this in addition to the drops for my dd as often the drops don't get everywhere in the eye and the infection can easily come back. We've had success on a couple of occasions with just the shampoo washes and no antibiotics.

As far as daycare goes, we were allowed to take her back once she was being treated, usually the next day.

Wishing you luck!

[Super~Single~Mama]

Looks like I'll be stopping at the drugstore on the way home for some tear free shampoo!!

Thanks for the tip!!!

[1blueheron]

Originally Posted by Super~Single~Mama 

DS stopped nursing right around his 2nd b-day (self weaned), but I still have some milk (like.....tiny drops if I try to get some) - should I treat my own eyes with it?  How? 

Yes, I've used it on myself and on DD as a precaution (when I had pinkeye and she did not).  We also coslept, but I made sure she used her own pillow.  Just get as much milk out as you can, dilute with water if you need to, and put it in a dropper (or a turkey baster or a straw) and drop into your eyes.  Might help -- and I promise it won't hurt.
 

[Mis Trae]

I'm kinda cynical about pink eye. We got it A LOT this winter.  After our 2-3 bouts of pinkeye, I just get the drops as a precaution. It's gotten to the point that if 1 of us gets it, we all get it.  Of course, double up on the hand washing especially any time you touch the eyes (yours or child's). Once you get the drops, go ahead and use in both eyes. We've yet to keep it from traveling to both eyes. However, one time DH and I got it but DS didn't. Lots and Lots of hand washing. Oh yeah, I second the washing of stuff...wash everything after one use(pillow cases, wash clothes..etc..)

[dejagerw]

Just an FYI, most pinkeye is viral, so antibiotic drops won't do anything, and they won't prevent you from getting a case of viral pink eye. It really just has to run its course.

[JudiAU]

Both kids had it earlier in the year. Preschooler picked up at preschool who passed it to toddler. All the adults were very careful, washed sheets and towels ever day, where very careful with hand washing, and it didn't spread. Kids need extra care and attention while they have it because they won't feel well. At least 2-3 outside a share care situation. Try to go to a clinic tonight to get started on the dropps.

And yes, the drops will clear most cases because most cases are not actually viral. They only become viral in more advanced cases if there is a lot of eye-rubbing and you get a secondary infection.

[parisferris]

Originally Posted by dejagerw 

Just an FYI, most pinkeye is viral, so antibiotic drops won't do anything, and they won't prevent you from getting a case of viral pink eye. It really just has to run its course.

I don't think that this is actually true. Or if it is, then most "pinkeye" should really just be called an eye infection.

I asked our ped why daycare got so up in arms about pinkeye and she said that viral pinkeye is crazy contagious and can go on to cause all kinds of serious problems - and most daycares don't even realize that it can be either viral or bacterial. Since most eye infections are bacterial, breastmilk, soap/shampoo or antibacterial drops in the eyes will typically clear it up. Our ped actually went on to say that she had only seen viral pinkeye once since she became a doctor about 10 years ago, and that was during her residency in a hospital setting.

To the OP, hope your little one is doing better and that you've managed to avoid the goopy itchy eyes :) 

[Llyra]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pink-eye/DS00258/DSECTION=causes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002005/

http://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/index.html

The proper name for pinkeye is conjunctivitis. It can have many causes-- the most common are viruses, allergies, and bacteria. The viral type is extraordinarily contagious. Only the bacterial type will respond to antibiotic drops, but because it is impractical to test to tell whether each case is viral or bacterial, it is common for practitioners to prescribe antibiotics for all conjunctivitis. The viral type will clear all on its own, and often it clears soon after the drops are started-- because it would have cleared then anyway-- and people attribute the healing to the drops. In most cases, it is realistic to forgo treatment for conjunctivitis, and to use simple eye washes like breastmilk or saline. The drops can always be started later, if the infection doesn't clear easily. Schools and daycares will exclude children with conjunctivitis, unless the child has been on antibiotic drops for 24 hours.

It is possible for conjunctivitis to have serious side effects, but this is not too common.

My own children get put out of school every single solitary May, for their allergic conjunctivitis. The schools refuse to believe I know that it is not contagious, so every year we all haul ourselves to the doc, who looks at them, says Yup, this is their allergies again, look we did this last spring, and the spring before that. Then she writes the little note, sends us home with antihistamine eye wash, and we're on our way again. Three weeks later, when whatever pollen is causing the problem clears, they're fine again. I'm pretty sure we'll do this every spring until they graduate.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Thanks all!  DS is doing fine.  His eyes looked a tad better when we went to the ped, but he prescribed eye-drops anyway, and his eyes are completely clear now.