Pink Eye

Pinning down a helpless baby and squirting junk into his eye is just mean. I feel so guilty. Oh Yes, it's our first bought with the contagious little infection called pink eye. Let me tell you, putting the medicine in a child's eye is harder than I thought. I gave up trying to put the medicine in my older son's eyes. I can't hold him down! And then I woke up with the stuff in my eyes. I'm not sure if any television viewers realized what it was or if they just thought the anchor was upset. Hmm, I am emotional.

What did I learn from this experience that can help you? Pink eye or conjunctivitis is usually caused by a bacteria or a virus, but can also be a form of allergies. If it's caused by a virus, there is no treatment. It just has to run its course. Bummer! There are two different kinds of antibiotics that are prescribed for pink eye infections. The usual drops are Vigamox, but you can also ask for Erythromycin in the ointment form. They both work the same way. The ointment seemed to work better on my baby because it stayed in his eye instead of dripping out. Pink eye caused by allergies can be solved with allergy eye drops like Patanol.

Pink eye symptoms:

• Red, irritated eye
• Itchy eyes
• Increased tearing
• Gritty feeling in the eyes
• Sensitivity to light
• Stickiness of the eyelids
• Swelling
  

Pink eye caused by infection/virus is highly contagious:

• Keep kids out of school
• Wash hand frequently
• Most importantly, Don't touch eyes!

I think the baby had pink eye infection because the antibiotic made a huge difference, but there's really no way for doctors to know what kind of pink eye they're seeing. According to Eyecaresource.com, the RPS Adeno Detector TM may soon be available to test the cause of pink eye. It works like a rapid strep test. Doctors would be able to use a tear sample to get results in just 10 minutes. Fantastic!

And kidshealth.org says, "If your child has pinkeye and starts to develop increased swelling, redness, and tenderness in the eyelids and around the eye, along with a fever, call your doctor. Those symptoms may mean the infection has started to spread beyond the conjunctiva and will require additional treatment." Unfortunately, the baby has started developing these symptoms. I guess we'll make one more trip to the pediatrician's office this month!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen