conjunctivitis - how long does it last?

[newgirl]

My 18-month-old son has had conjunctivitis for six days. The doctor gave us a some eye drops on day one and said it should clear up by day four, but it's still lingering.

How long does it usually last for? Just wondering at what stage I should contact the doctor again. It's not really bothering my son, just when he can't open his eyes in the morning.

Thanks!

[Lochie]

Hi newgirl,

My son had this over Xmas. It went on for about 4 days untreated, as soon as we got the drops it cleared up within 48 hours. I would say if it hasn't gone within a week of diagnosis you should go back to doc.

Do you struggle to get the drops in? It was a nightmare for us and sometimes I couldn't be 100% sure they went in his eyes, so are you sure you are getting them in properly? Also for the first 24 hours of drops we were told to use them every 1-2 hours and then every 4 hours for the 24 hours after that. So frequency of use is important.

Good luck, its so sad seeing them with their eyes stuck together!

[newgirl]

Thanks Lochie. Yes, we've not had a problem getting them in, but the prescription (for something called Fucithalmic fusidic acid) says one drop twice a day, so maybe that's something I should ask the doc about.

[nunheadmum]

If your son has a cold, it could be related to that rather than bacterial conjunctivitis - which is what the drops are for. According to our GP, with little ones, the nose, ears, eyes are all so close and connected that if one gets congested, it can quickly spread and come out via another option. Hence a cold often results in weepy eyes, ear infections etc. Therefore if the drops aren't working and your son still has a cold, it may last as long as the cold does.

[BB100]

Everyone in my family had viral conjunctivitis over the xmas so it seems to be 'doing the rounds' with a particular cold virus so I agree with what nunheadmum said.

We treated it like bacterial with the drops at first but it didn't make any difference - It just made it sting more. I had it for two weeks and my eyes really hurt, especially when they were bright red - I didn't speak for two days it hurt so much. My teenager had it for 4 weeks, his eyes were sealed shut every morning for 3 weeks and were running all day.

In the end we found that putting warm, wet cotton pads over the eyes for 5 minutes softens the gue making it easier to clean. We also took Sudafed to clear the congestion but I doubt you can give that to your toddler.

[Trish]

I saw the GP last week as I had very red sticky eyes, as did my 5 year old and also my poor, wee 10 week old. She reiterated what BB100 has said - that this is a viral infection doing the rounds and will clear up on its own. Bathing everyone's eyes has certainly helped and eased the soreness.

[newgirl]

Thanks everyone. He had a fever last night (39.8) so I took him back to the GP today and she's given me a different type of drops to try, although she said it is possible that it's a virus. In fact his eyes seem less weepy today so perhaps the fever was his body's attempt to shake of the infection/virus. Thanks for all your suggestions/experiences

[Keef]

nunheadmum Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If your son has a cold, it could be related to

> that rather than bacterial conjunctivitis - which

> is what the drops are for. According to our GP,

> with little ones, the nose, ears, eyes are all so

> close and connected that if one gets congested, it

> can quickly spread and come out via another

> option. Hence a cold often results in weepy eyes,

> ear infections etc. Therefore if the drops aren't

> working and your son still has a cold, it may last

> as long as the cold does.

This is interesting. I came on here to ask advise on best treatment for my little girl, who's eyes are gunky, with a light yellowy/greeny sort of pus. I assumed it was conjunctivitis, but having read your post, I am wondering, because she is very snotty at the moment too.

Anyway, can anyone recommend some eye drops for a 20 month old?

Want to try buying something this weekend, and if it's not any better, I'll take her to the doctors on Monday...

[sanity girl]

Keef, a pharmacist told me you can use brolene eyedrops for babies. Also, a squirt of breastmilk often does the trick!

[ClareC]

Keef,

Baby "I" had gunky eyes with a cold a few weeks back, the pharmacist said that everything you can buy over the counter was aged 2 and above.

Dr said drops no good as they are antibiotic based and the infection was not bacterial but viral (presumably as part of a cold), was told to bathe with cooled boiled water. I was dubious but it did actually work after a few days.

You basically dip the cotton wool in the water, wipe from inner to outer eye (nose to ear) and then repeat with a new piece of cotton wool until gunge removed and eye clean. You then repeat the other side.

[bumpy]

Adding a small amount of salt to the boiled water also works a treat

[new mother]

We were given chloramphenical (sp?) by dr no 1, anda then fusidic acid by dr no 2 who expressed shock at the first script on the grounds it is not licensed for under 2s.

[jollybaby]

Newmother- chloramphenicol is licensed for use in under 2s, but only on prescription and not over the counter.

[nymom]

Yes, my son at 2 and a half was prescribed chloramphenical this past week, but subsaquently passed the infection on to my 3 month old daughter at the same time and the gp prescribed her the same drops as well.

[BB100]

As mentioned above, the drops don't work for viral conjunctivitis, it just makes the eyes sting more.