gunky eyes in a 4mth old

Spock has always had gunky eyes, from birth. and I was never worried cause really thought it was just a blocked tear duct. But they have gotten worse...really worse. It is both eyes, and the gunk is green (was always green), but seems to be thicker...It's gotten so bad that a few times she will wake up and her eyes are stuck together =( my poor baby cries and you know she is awake cause she is trying to look around but can't open her eyes =( (and its starting to really freak me out and i had a nightmare last night that she couldn't open them cause they were sewn shut... but I think that is another post...).

I am constanty cleaning them, like 10 times a day. and I do always make sure its with a clean tissue, and I only use normal saline. and I have been squirting BM into her eyes, but its not working..

At her 6 week check I did mention it to the MACH nurse (but they were no where near as bad then), who said just keep cleaning them. and there is no point going to a gp cause they won't 'do anything' until she is 12months anyway...

is there anything else I can do? is it normal for her eyes to be this bad?

A girlfriend of mine used chlorsig drops in her bubba's eyes and she was less than six months old. You can get it over the counter without a script. Maybe call your local pharmacy for advice?

My DS1 had constant gunk in his eyes when he was born. The slightest sniffle would make it much worse. It took till he was 2-2.5 for it to not come through his eyes. His tubes were just very narrow & the mucus was unable to drain. We did end up having to use cholosig (sp) as he was at day-care & he had to be treated as though he had conjunctivitis. At about 16 mths we saw an eye specialist & she confirmed his nasal tubes & tear ducts were just too narrow still & give them time to widen as he grew

DS had gunky eyes like that and it took a little while to comopletely clear. I just used BM.

DD had blocked duct in one eye that was operated on at 18months. It was a small op where the probed the duct and widened it. We didn't use chlorsig drops as there was no infection of the conjunctiva. Had a note from the GP for daycare stating it was not infectious. One sign it was the tear duct was that her tears ran down her cheek instead of the duct. I guess another trip to the GP to be reassessed might be the way to go?

DD1 was similar, it wasn't til she had AB's at around 6 months for a chest infection that it cleared up!

Sounds like her tear ducts are blocked. It's very common but often clears by 12 weeks and generally is in one eye.

Both my girls have had it and DD2 (9 months) still has it so we are going back to the Opthomologist this week to book in the surgery. As much as the surgery is a little nerve racking (although they assure me it's super quick and simple), I'll be SO glad to see the gunk gone for ever. It's driving both her and I batty and with all the rubbing she's at risk of scarring.

I'd see your GP and get a referral to a specialists.

PS: if it's severe enough, they will definitely do the surgery earlier. They were going to do DD's at 7 months but her actual eye was still fine so he suggested we hold off unless the rubbing and redness increased, which it has.

Also, don't use tissues if you can avoid it. Small fibers can rub off into their eyes. Get the Little Eyes wipes from a pharmacy or use a very soft, damp face washer.

It's horrible, I feel your pain

Grab a bottle of sterile saline (like for contact lenses, about $5 from the chemist) and some cotton balls. Use a different ball for each eye, soak the ball and start at the inside corner of her eye and gently wipe to the outside as often as needed. Should clear it up within a day or so if you do it several times a day.
Squirting or dropping BM into her eye will also help.

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Grab a bottle of sterile saline (like for contact lenses, about $5 from the chemist) and some cotton balls. Use a different ball for each eye, soak the ball and start at the inside corner of her eye and gently wipe to the outside as often as needed. Should clear it up within a day or so if you do it several times a day.
Squirting or dropping BM into her eye will also help.

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If its a blocked tear duct, which it sounds like it is, none of this will fix it. The duct has to unblock and 70% of cases do so on their own, the other 30% need the surgery. Even BM doesn't help because its not an infection.

The cotton balls and the saline solution is great advice for cleaning them though and much cheaper than the Little Eyes

Sorry, I meant it will clear up the gunk being so bad she can't open her eyes. We had the same problem with DD2 for months on and off until it finally stopped altogether (presumably when the duct cleared).

thats exactly what i do Lime except im using tissues instead of cotton buds. ill stop using the tissues tho. thanks girls. it is worse than it was. she is due for her 4mth needles this week. ill bring it up again then.

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Sorry, I meant it will clear up the gunk being so bad she can't open her eyes. We had the same problem with DD2 for months on and off until it finally stopped altogether (presumably when the duct cleared).

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Gotcha ;) I could have saved a fortune if I'd thought of that!

i missed half your replies when i posted! yea it might just be a blocked duct but everyone has said ut should clear up by now...
sorry on my phone but who said their childs passages were narrow? might be the case cause she snorts and snores all the time.