Help Pink Eye and Eye Drops..

I just had to give eye drops to the 3 year old I babysit. She threw all out tantrums for her mom, so she sheepishly asked me if I was alright trying to give them to her daughter for a few days. I've had plenty of experience with eye drops from my first daughter who had plugged ducts, and had no problem giving them to the little girl.

I had her lay on the couch and close her eyes. Then I put one drop in the inside corner of her eye. I had her open her eyes and look at the ceiling, then close, do second drop, open, all done! Not a tear was shed. Repeat on the other side, all the while praising her for being so good at taking her medicine.

Another way is to pull down the lower lid and place the drop there, but I've found that the less touching of the eye the better for everyone.

But just so you don't feel bad - I've had to do the two person hold her down and peel her eyes open job. Not pleasant for anyone, but who's in charge here?!? And my daughter is completely fine to this day despite those episodes.

Blessings!

Hi. Once pink eye gets the lines it needs antibiotics to go away. If it is still just cloudy you can flush it out with warm water and a cotton ball. My son got pink eye alot when he was young. It is just where the cold settled. I don't know a way that will make it better for your daughter. But I would lay him on couch with his head on my lap so I could tilt his head back. Like a dentist would do. I would just talk to him and get the drops in as best as I could. If his eyes would shut, I would rub it in gently. Wash your hands every time you put the drops in. It is very contagous. Once the drops start working her eyes should feel better. Make sure she doesn't touch her eyes, and wash her hands if she does. Oh, and don't let the dropper touch her eyes either.

Hi L.,

We have been through the eye drop thing many times with our twins (who will turn 4 next month). The first round was unbearable...but then we developed a system that works:

Have your daughter laydown on her back with her head in your lap and her eyes closed.
Gently place a tiny "pool" (a couple drops) in the corner of each eye near the nose.
Whenever she is ready, ask her to slowly open and close (we even made up a song which helped a lot).
Each time she opens and closes, more of the drops make it into her eyes.
If she gets freaked out, she can just lay there with her eyes closed again and the drops don't really go anywhere.

Eye drops are now fun for my girls. Kids are so weird!

Hope this helps,
J. T

Hi!

Have you tried having her lie down with her eyes closed? Tilt her chin back a bit and drop the eyedrops in the corners of her eyes...then tell her to open her eyes. I would have to help my kids open their eyes at first because they didn't want to...and then blink. It helped that they couldn't see the drop coming...hope this helps!

I just went through this with my 4 year old in January. We did the drops in the corner of the eye with the eyes closed. It worked okay - sometimes it didn't always go in. But it helped get him to settle down a little. After the first few days he was awesome about it and would bring us the drops. At that point I was able to have him keep his eyes open and just gently pull open the lower lid and place a drop there. Even after he was through his course of the drops he would bring us the bottle and kept trying to make us put them in.
Good Luck.

I have a book called "Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child" and one of the things it says for pink eye is to do a warm compress 10 to 15 min. 4-6 times a day, with either a herb called eyebright, or chamomile, or plain water because many of the microorganisms that cause pinkeye are very heat sensitive.
I went and bought chamomile tea bags, soaked them in hot water for a minute took them out and let them cool until I could put them on my daughters eyes. Just remember that the skin around the eyes is very thin, so they can burn easily. I would sit with her and tell her a story while she had them on. Much easier than drops. Just an idea. Good luck.
P.S. Don't reuse the tea bags. And make sure you wash your hands before and after you work around her eyes so you don't pass germs around.

I work in ophthalmology and agree with Tina B. When children come to the office and need drops, we recline them, have them close their eyes, put a drop in the corner by their nose, and then have them open and blink a few times. Enough medication gets in to work. It sounds like you are dealing with both eyes, so I would be quick and do them at the same time.

You could get a bottle of over-the-counter artificial tears and have her use them on a doll, stuffed animal, or you. Then it's her turn. Her drops do burn, though, so it's definitely uncomfortable. Good luck!

Okay, I have a totally different take on this, bear with me. Remember when we used to give antibiotics to every kid with an ear infection and then they discovered that it breeds super bacteria and it doesn't really help most of the time anyway because most ear infections are viral?

Well it's the same deal with pink eye. Most often it's viral so forcing antibiotic eye drops in her eyes is not going to change anything. My whole family got pink eye last year when my daughter was in kindergarten and we didn't go to the doctor once. It just went away after a few days, just like a cold would, even if it is in your eye.

I would talk it over with your doc, but it's my understanding that those drops are just a precaution against it turning into a bacterial infection. Wait a few days with no drops and see if it just goes away.

Our almost had pink eye a few months ago and what we did was give her a lolly pop then have her close her eyes put the drops in then had her blink. It worked for us! Good luck!

My ds has had it several times. Calm her as much as possible. Have her lay on the floor, you straddle her head with your knees, with her eyes closed put a drop in the inner corner of the eye and have her open. Medicine will get in the eye and will help. Have her blink 10 times, then you can blot the "water" away with a tissue.

Pink eye burns, so it's not comfy to have the drops put in, but they do start working immediately.

I got my son to take it right before he took a nap...if she's taking one. Also, if you see if she is willing to hold her own eyes open, that might help a bit. :D

Colloidal Silver works wonders on Pink Eye. We've had it cure it in 24 hours. Just put some in a spray bottle and spray it on her face and try to get her to open her eyes and let some run in. It's basically a little silver in water, but it feels just like water, no burning or irritation. You can also use a dropper, have her lay back and drop them on her eyes while they are closed and then when she opens them the drops will go in.

Those medicated drops hurt and burn, so she will instinctively fight them. Plus they take a while to work which means a long battle.

Good luck!

Everyone gave the advice I was. Drops in corner of eyes and then tell her to blink really fast. :-) It may not get all of it in, but some is better than none.