Conjunctivitis for a MONTH!! Help...

[Sweet Bliss]

I am not sure if there are any other threads on this, because I am too tired to look !

DS who is 5 months, has had conjunctivitis for a month now

I tried breast milk and salt water initially, and it didn't help, so I took him to our GP, who prescribed AB Drops, which have not worked at all....it will look clear for about a day, and then go back to the gunkiness....

We all had it briefly at the start of the month, but we have all cleared up except my poor little man

I have tried breast milk and salt water again, to no avail. His creche is full of it at the moment, so I am not sure if he is being reinfected each wednesday when he goes. They are great at sending the kids home straight away at any sign of gunkiness (DS was sent home yesterday).

Anyway, friends were telling me about a cream/ointment that you can get at the chemist that they all found better than the drops...
I just went to the chemist, and the only thing they had that was suitable for a 5 month old was some drops, which I have bought, along with some Little Eyes wipes (from the people that make the Fess nose stuff)... I am hoping this does the trick, because I really don't want him back on the AB's...

Any suggestions would be wonderful!!

[*TripleJ*]

cammomile tea brew a cup and then use cotton balls to wipe his eyes using a new ball every wipe works here

[Sweet Bliss]

Thanks J! I will give that a go for sure! xoxox

[Mak]

We had same with #1 - was shocking - just constant cleaning with the wipes was the go in the end. Good Luck!

[Sweet Bliss]

Thanks Mak, I was hoping the wipes would help, his poor eyes have been getting sore from using facewashers etc....

[Nai]

DD2 had it for about 2 weeks as well - it was driving mr insane!

We used the cotton wool squares that have the cover (the ones that don't leave fibres) and used saline to wipe. Wipe from inside the corner of the the eye to the outside of the eye and use a new square for each eye.

Make sure all the gunk is out before using any drops or cream.

If the child rubs the eye, wash their hands with warm soapy water.

I used the AB drops but had to go back and get the AB cream to finally clear it up. The cream is exactly the same stuff as the drops but in a different form. It seems to stay better in babies eyes especially if you use it just before they go to sleep. You need a prescription for it.

[Sweet Bliss]

Thanks Nai, I am thinking that I might make a trip to the GP tomoz, just to get the prescription for the cream just in case it doesn't clear over the weekend. That must be the cream my friends were talking about. How on earth do you use it though? Do you rub it around the eye....?

[Nai]

Umm no - it's pretty much a 2 person job! You need to put it in the eye so you really need one person to hold the head and try to hold the eye open and the other person put the cream in. I did manage a couple of times to do it myself but it was a battle!

[aussienic]

my suggestion is to buy some anti bacterial soap and wash his hands very regularly for a few days, change his sheets after every sleep or put a cloth nappy or towel where his head goes and change that instead

[*Beema*]

DD had it for 2-3 weeks as well, DH ended up getting it as well. Clean each eye separately with the little square facial wipes and warm water, then apply the AB cream, you have to pull the bottom lid down as they ointment needs to go on the inside of the lid. The drops down't last very long, and unless you can hold the tear duct close it will just go down the throat.

And just be vigilant with washing hands when anyones hands are near the face.

Hope it clears up very soon
xxoo

[Sweet Bliss]

Yep, I think I am going to have to step up the handwashing and sheet changing around here....
The cream sounds like so much fun

Thanks so much for all the advice, this is why I love BB...You are never alone!!