Newborn with gunky eye.

DS is a week and half old. He has had a yucky eye since he was born. I have been cleaning it with purified water and putting a little breast milk in (though not every day). Its still yellowy green pusy and crusty :rolleyes: I know this is fairly comon in newborns, but hoping it should have cleared up by now.
MHC nurse said that if it was still a problem after a while, tell my GP at the 6 wk check up - but thats ages away. I dont want him to suffer that long or introduce people to my new goopy faced baby!
what should I do? keep up with cleaning or take him to GP? Is there something else I can do to help it clear?
Ive been told its a blocked tear duct but could be conguntivitus by the nurse.
Not sure how long it should take to clear or if it might need extra help?? :dunno:

MJ had the same thing, went on for a few weeks, then seemeed to clear and then came back again.
I cleaned with some calandular flower and chamomile tea...
brew up a batch then add some extra water (i used cool boiled and then wiped her eye after each nap and whenever else they looked gunky...when i got onto this they were clear in about 2 days....

If you are worried thou, see your doc, but try this fist maybe?
Congrats on your new arrival (and sucessful vbac :))

HTH

Just keep cleaning it and keep an eye on it for signs it is getting worse. It is probably just a blocked tear duct. They can go on for ages. They won't do anything until 12 months but they usually clear up before this by themselves. We thought when it was green discharge there was an infection and our gp kept giving us antibiotic drops which were awful and stung. We finally got into a specialist at the hospital and he said it is just green as it is mucus from the nose canal and there was never an infection hence the apparent 'resistance' to ABS.

You could try some very luke warm salty water? Just only add a bit of salt. That's great for cleansing sore eyes. The salt shouldn't hurt bub's delicate eyes unless you use too much. Use a soft cotton bud/ball. Could be conjunctivitis. Make sure you wash your hands afterwards so you don't get it incase.
Hope it clears soon.

yea - it pretty much looks like a snotty eye ;)
Poor lad sometimes cant open his eye though cause of all the crust.

We havent got any calandula, but do have camomile tea - do you think that by itself will work? I can pick up some calandula tomorrow I guess.

Do you think I should keep putting milk in his eye?


BTW - thanks Sammijane , Im so delighted to finally have him and its awesome not to have had a ceaser! :D

Hi Salsa, it does sound like a blocked tear duct and your milk won't hurt.
I have been told when Natty has gunky eyes (every time she gets a cold) that plain water can be irritating to the eye because it doesn't have the right balance of salts. Saline solution is closer to the composition of tears, and therefore will be less irritating to baby's eyes. It is really cheap to buy from the chemist, though you need to specify that it is for eyes (because not all saline that they sell is the right concentration for eyes, aparently.)
I'm really sorry that he's got it. A friend's baby had it too and it is still around - she is 4 months old now. It is getting better slowly though! I'm told it doesn't bother them over-much, but I can understand that it would be a bother for you, and for him if it prevents him from opening his eye, poor little guy.
Anyway, I hope it clears up for him soon and all the best.

calandula is a natural antiseptic, so is the better one to have, chamomile will help with the soothing though. It wont hurt to use it on its own, but i would get the calandula flower tomorrow if possible...

I also use this solution as her bum wiping solution and we have never had nappy rash, so it can come in useful again - will help clear it up if you ever get it too...

Great. I will get some calandula tomorrow and make up a batch for bum and eye.

i know you probably know, but keep them separate...
I also chuck away after a few days (the bum stuff) and made fresh each day for the eyes

Hope it works

:lol: yes, I will keep them separate and make fresh batches ;)

Hi Salsa,

Just thought I'd let you know that my bub suffered from gunky eye too. I actually took her to my osteo (the one I suggested to you a couple of months ago) last week and she did some light pressure work on the tear duct. For a few days after heaps more gunk came out, but since then it's cleared right up (fingers crossed it stays this way!).

HTH

Hi Salsa,

My little one had it too when she was a newborn, I went to the Dr and he gave her drops as it was conjunctivitis but he also told me to use my ring finger and massages the corner of her eye (near her nose) as it's a blocked duct and this helped it clear up.