My son woke up this morning with a red, irritated eye (his right eye) but no gunky stuff. A little girl he plays with has pink eye but is recovering. Now, his eye isn't red or pink or irritated looking at all, though there's some soft "sleepies" in his eye and he looks a little squinty in that eye. He's not acting sick or out of the ordinary and it's just that one eye. When I woke him up this morning, I noticed that he had fallen asleep on his hand, yes on the right side of his face. Could this just be from sleeping on his hand, or is it pink eye?
Thank you, ladies!
I took him to Connecticut Children's Hospital around 5:00 (they weren't very busy so it was a relatively quick visit) and the doctor confirmed the pink-eye diagnosis. He started on his eye drops last night. There was nothing else going on with him (no ear infections, sore throat) so she recommended that I keep him away from his sister for a few days after starting the drops and he should be fine.
Maybe it is and maybe it isn't.
Wait to see if he starts rubbing his eyes or feels any discomfort.
Then take him to a doctor.
Pink eye is highly contagious - so he's probably in the process of coming down with it.
I agree with B maybe maybe not. Pink eye really doesn't make you feel bad other than wanting to claw your eyes out when it is really bad. Generally though the eye will be sealed shut in the morning not just a little bit of crust. It is crazy contagious so perhaps he is just getting it and will be really crusty tomorrow. If your pediatrician has Saturday hours I would call today and explain what you said here. That way you have the meds on hand and don't have to go to urgent care, which would be more expensive, tomorrow.
Schools and Day Cares make a big deal about Pink Eye because it's so easy to catch, but, it's not really that big a deal. It's annoying and uncomfortable, but it's a temporary infection and isn't really dangerous or anything.
This isn't something that will make him sick or cause him to act any different. If anything, he would complain that his eye itches or bugs him in someway. If he does that, encourage him to not rub it, and have him wash his hands if you see him touch his eye.
Webmd does a nice job of explaining Pink Eye.
http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/tc/pinkeye-topic-overview
If you think he has it, it's worth a trip to Urgent Care just to get it checked up and pick up the prescription eye drops. If he does have it, you'll want to start the drops as soon as you can just to get rid of it.
Remember, if you do have to give the drops, you can just have your son lie down on the couch with his eyes closed and place drops in the corner of his eyes. This is just as effective as with the eyes open.
if one of his buddies had it, it's probably pink eye. it's highly contagious.
khairete
S.
There are two kinds of pink eye-- viral and bacterial. Bacterial pink eye can be treated with drops, viral-- no, the drops are not effective. Do seek medical attention (doctor, urgent care).... and while, yes, it isn't a *huge* deal (until it stings and hurts like crazy, as everyone said), do yourself and everyone else a favor and use good precautions. Washing pillowcases he's slept on, not sharing towels, good handwashing, etc. I've had to sanitize my entire preschool because of this grossness and so, for everyone's sake, do your best to keep it to yourself and please don't send your kid back out into the world until they have either been on the drops for a while (bacterial) or it's cleared up entirely (viral).
Pink eye (conjunctivitis) is often in just one eye. Sometimes there are crusty formations, sometimes not. You must assume that this is what it is, assume he is highly contagious, take precautions (extreme hand washing but just with regular soap, not antibacterial), don't share washcloths/towels, and have him be seen. The pediatrician should have Saturday hours - if not, go to a walk-in clinic. Don't tie up an emergency room with this - and don't share it with the ER patients and staff.
Most kids with pink eye don't "act sick" unless they have something else going on at the same time. A lot of times people with colds rub/wipe their noses and then don't wash their hands, and the germs get in the eye. But not always.
It could be viral or bacterial, or it could be something else entirely, but until you know for sure, you assume it's contagious and you protect everyone else.
Wouldn't hurt to get it checked. The last time I had pink eye that's how it started. The next day it was more like the typical red eye symptoms with eye crusted shut. A day of eye drops and it was gone.
I would think he got something in it before jumping to pink eye right off. Give him a shower, make sure to wash his face well, put some moisturizing eye drops in and see if anything is in his eye.
Then if it's gunky and gross later you know it's likely not a reaction to something in it or an allergy.
