Gooey Eye

I am not a doctor or anything but a friend of mine had what looked like pink eye and it turned out not to be. It was allergies. Just a thought.

Both of my sons have/had blocked tear ducts, but both started soon after birth. My youngest (4 months) has not had any infections, but his eye is often "gooey". My oldest was in daycare for a period of time, and the eye with the blocked tear duct, which was often "gooey", would at times become red and bloodshot looking, the inside of the lower lid would turn red, as opposed to pink and the eye would look glassy. The "goo" would also look a little more green than normal. This was the sign that his normal eye had become infected - or turned into "pink eye". We would do a course of Vigamox, an antibiotic eye drop, and it would clear up very quickly, thankfully. It was always a three day course of treatment, so very short. The antibiotic always worked, and he never became "immune" to it. He probably has had between 5-10 infections total (he is 6 y.o.) It is very important to always finish a course of antibiotic treatment once started (unless you have an allergic reaction) to completely get rid of the bacteria causing the illness, and to not stop when symptoms subside.
If your son's eye is red and bloodshot looking in addition to being glassy and gooey, I would believe that it is pink eye, and if you are stopping the antibiotics just when the eye looks better and not finishing the treatment, then he probably has the same infection that keeps resurfacing. I think natural treatments are fine for helping with symptoms at this point, but I think it would be a good idea to complete one course of the antibiotics to get rid of the infection, if it appears that is what it is, and then if it does recur, seek other, more holistic courses of treatment from your pediatrician, or another practitioner.

Gooey eye does not necessarily mean pinkeye. My daughter had this when she was a baby and I seem to recall her ped said babies often have problems with their tear ducts but it usually gets better when they get older. With my daughter, her eye would leak a lot and sometimes would crust up. We just kept an eye on it and put a warm compress on it when it got crusty. That being said, my other daughter did have pinkeye when she was a baby/toddler and no one else in the family got it. If you feel like your Dr is prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily, you could look for a new Dr that is more compatible with your family. Good luck!

J. - this sounds like my daughter last year at this time. It ended up being allergy related. Try the OTC Similisan eye drops. We also had great success w/brewing a mug of chamomile tea, letting it cool, and using that as eyedrops or as a cold compress w/a washrag dipped in it and placed on the eyes for a while. If you'd like more specifics, please let me know. - J.

you could see an opthamologist, if you don't want to believe your regular doctor. However, when it came to my kids and pink eye, I followed the doctors orders.

Im goind through a simeral thing with my son right now. Ive taken him to the dr 2 times now. this last time they told me to put a warm compress on it every 4 hour and watch it closely. The warm compress may work but you have to be consistant and do it every 4 hours if he is awake. I have a verry hectic life and sometimes this is hard as a mother of 3 kids you may find the same thing. If you miss the 4 hour mark because he is sleeping or you arent at home just do the warm compress as soon and you get home or he wakes up. I hope this helps you. I hope his eye gets better. If you feel that something more is wrong. be persistant with his dr. best of luck.
C.

Could be just a blocked tear duct. A warm wash cloth applied to the eye will help with that.

I think it could be a blocked tear duct. My son had that happen at 5 weeks old. Keep cleaning it with a warm wash cloth. Check with a specialist, if it does not clear up. My Lactation consultant told me that they call it "pink eye" and treat it the same. If it does not resolve itself then he might need surgery. Good luck.

Hi J.,

It sounds like your son may just have a blocked tear duct. It is very common in children under a year old. Try war compresses 3x a day and if that helps ask your pediatrician to also perscribe erythromysin ophtalmic ointment. It is a light antibiotic. My son had the same problem when he was a couple months old and within a week it was gone and we have had no problems since then. If it does not clear I recommend you go see a pediatric ophthalmologist. Good luck

How great that you're listening to your mom instincts!
Please take your son to a qualified optometrist, one who practices full-scope optometrist (beyond glasses and contact lenses). S/he can better diagnose than a pediatrician whose training may have included a rotation about the eyes, but not a specialty. Or if you don't have a full-scope optometrist near you (unlikely, but possible), go to an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon). Both of them are eye specialists.

You're so right to stay on this. We need our eyes for our lifetime! Good luck.

You've gotten some good advice here - I think it's good that you went with your instincts and stopped with unnecessary meds. Good for you!

It may be a blocked tear duct. A few of my kids had this. It requires you to rub the corner of his eye and press down while sweeping under the eyelid with your finger. You can also use a warm washcloth and do this. Kids with blocked tear ducts can appear to get pink eye, and often do. This is just a guess but with your explaination it sounds like maybe it's not pink eye. If it is pink eye and your using the drops, are you using them a few times a day? If you are only using it once and that's it then it will come back. Good luck!

My son got that a few times when he was 4months to about 8months. The doctor told us to just bathe it with warm water because babies tear ducts don't always develop until they are older. Therefore, causing the gooey eye. I know it doesn't look good, but it probably is nothing to be alarmed about (just like your mommy insticts told you!) Hope that helps, take care and good luck. Happy Holidays to you too!

Has the doc ever mentioned a clogged tear duct? My daughter used to get that gooey eye...and my ped said to use a warm wash cloth and just massage the corner of the eye near the nose. It's more common for newborns to have the clogged tear ducts, but older infants can also. Worth a try I guess! Good luck!

You may want to see if its a herpes virus in his eye. I don't want to be an alarmist, but it is good to rule it out since it can have bad consequences for the eye. I am not sure how the doctor would check that, but my husband had this when he was a child and the eye was very gooey and drippy. At the time, they had to freeze his eyeball to get rid of it.

Hi, from what I've been told is that you need to finished the prescribed duration and course of antibiotics, or else you are just building a stronger more efficient bacteria and will possibly have to use stronger antibiotics in the future. The reason the "gooeyness" stopped is the antibiotic is working. If you stop using them mid-course your son will be more likely to become "immune" to the antibiotic than if you finished the whole course of medicine.

Because it is your son's eyesight that is ultimately in jeopardy, and pink eye is extremely contagious, I would give him as much as your doctor recommends and in the future find a doctor that is more willing to work with you in using natural treatments and alternative medicine.

Sometimes children can develop a 'cold' in their eyes. Does he have a runny nose or sniffles in addition to it? Allergies can also be to blame. If it is pink eye, it would have a yellow/greenish puss and be very matted and red.

I recommend taking him to an opthomologist if it continues. Eye doctors might be able to treat him more accurately.

Sounds like pinkeye to me. I'm not sure how long you are supposed to give those drops. It is very contagious. He probably keeps touching his eyes. Try to wash his hands after coming home from being out. My daughter used to get it a lot when she was younger. For more information you can visit :

http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/understanding-conjunctivi...

It's going around. I know someone who has it. Good luck.

do you still nurse? you can put breastmilk in his eye and that will clear it up. I have also heard of tea bag compresses but youd have to research which type of tea. Pink eye has been around for a long long time before there were antibiotics so there is a way!

Is it a blocked tear duct? My son had this and his eye would get gooey then after me rubbing the inside corner with a warm wash cloth a fee times it cleared up??

J.
this is crazy i know, but it works, i tried it with my 4th child and worked like a charm...home remedies...gotta love them!

boil water
add plain tea bag and seep 3 - 5 minute
remove tea bag, cool
PAT THE EYE WITH THE COOL TEA BAG such that some of the water will go into the eye...
pat dry with clean towel

and you can drink the tea or not LOL

hope it helps!
hilarie

J.,

I agree it sounds like an eye infection + a blocked tear duct. Essentially the drainage canal (near the "ball" of the interior of the eye close to the nose) is blocked at birth. Sometimes it can be "mucus" that's stuck, othertimes they think it's a thin membrane that never opened properly.

Most of the time you'd never know it. But when they cry you see tears only drip out. When it gets infected you notice it's glassy, and later becomes gooey. I noticed it more on my kids once they started solid foods because they were always rubbing their eyes with dirty, food covered hands.

The infection does need to be treated with antibiotics to prevent scarring of the eye and further discomfort. If you get past the infection, the only way to "unblock" the duct is to massage the side of the nose, starting close to the eye and rubbing downward along the side toward the nostril.

If you don't get it opened by the time the child is 1 yr old, peds/ped opthamologist recommend a quick surgery to "pierce" the duct open to prevent future infections and scarring. My second child did have to get the surgery. It was very quick and had no complications. Out of 3 kids, we've had to deal with 4 blocked tear ducts. Two resolved themselves, one needed surgery and one is TBD.

Good luck! Email me with any questions.

Sara

My daughter had this. It was a blocked tear duct. They are supposed to open naturally during the first year, warm conpresses, etc. help. However, if it has not opened on it's own it may require a surgical procedure called a probe where they open it. My daughter had this done at about a year of age, no side affects and the problem was resolved. I would recommend seeing a pediatric opthalmologist. The best in our area is Dr. Kimberlee Curnyn. She has offices in Arlington Hts.a nd Elk Grove Village.
Good luck.

Pink eye doesn't have to spread, doesn't have to glue the eye shut and will respond that quickly to eye drops. Without seeing the eye, I can't say for sure, but I bet it was just a mild case of pink eye.

I'm not a human doctor but I am a veterinary technician and it sounds like the gooey flare up could be an allergic reaction to something. Try and watch what he's doing or handling before a flare up to see if there are any similarities. It could also be a blocked tear duct or just something in his eye altogether. keep track of how long it goes away on it's own or maybe just flush with saline. You also may want to get a second opinion if the problem persists without a noticable pattern. Good luck!

Ask your pediatrician about allergies. Sometimes, general seasonal allergies can present as gooey eyes, not just sneezing and post-nasal drip.

Quick note on this - pink eye can be bacterial or viral. If its viral antibiotics won't work. When my girls were younger I had both - the viral type the "goo" was clearish. The goo was thicker and yellowish for the bacterial type. Both would seal the eye shut during the night.