So My 7 Yr Old Son Has Pink Eye in Both Eyes Ans Refuses the Drops Any Ideas?lol

Updated on June 01, 2018
K.B. asks from Louisville, KY
16 answers

He refuses and fighting with me about letting me put them in anybody been threw the same?

What can I do next?

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M.6.

answers from New York on

Since when do 7 year olds get to decide to refuse medication? Buck up and be the parent.

Yikes!

9 moms found this helpful
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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

Have him lie down on the couch or bed and close his eyes. Help him to relax. Gently put drops in the corner of his eyes and just have him continue to relax. The medicine will slowly seep into his eyes and do their work.

As long as he can just lie there for a couple of minutes (it doesn't take too long), the medicine will do its job.

5 moms found this helpful

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J.N.

answers from Lubbock on

Put the medicine in the tear duct, in the inner corner of the eye. Then he can turn his head to let the medicine roll over his eye. This is much less traumatic. You can even put the medicine there with his eyes closed if needed.

6 moms found this helpful

W.W.

answers from Washington DC on

Welcome to mamapedia, K..

I'm sorry you feel this is a LOL moment. It's not. If not treated, your son could lose eye sight and damage his eyes. This is NO "LOL" matter.

You tell him how it's going to be and it WILL be done. He WILL listen or you'll have to take him to the Dr and have THEM do it. NOT as a scare tactic but as a reality. THIS MUST BE DONE.

http://zeenews.india.com/exclusive/conjunctivitis-if-left...

https://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/about/treatment.html

This isn't a game. This isn't a LOL moment. **YOU** are the Mom. YOU tell him what will be done. Have him lie down and listen to music. Talk to him GENTLY and tell him what's happening. He might be scared - I get it - but it must be done. DO IT>

6 moms found this helpful
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Z.B.

answers from Toledo on

I understand what B is saying, but this doesn't have to be a battle. Jennifer and Gidget are right. Even if his eyes are closed, the medicine will still seep in. No need to engage in a battle of wills.

4 moms found this helpful
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E.B.

answers from Honolulu on

Try distracting his other senses. Let him eat a piece of tangy fruit that he likes or chew a small pretzel, or drizzle some honey on his tongue, so that he's tasting salt or sweet. Put on some fun music or a tune you both like. When you're sure the fruit or pretzel is gone (so there's no danger of choking) but when the taste still remains, have him lie down very flat. Make sure his head is not raised on a pillow.

Then have him close his eyes. Remind him to taste the fruit, listen to the song. His eyes should be gently closed, not squinched tight. Help him relax all his muscles (his hands or toes shouldn't be clenched).

Drop the required dosage of the eye drops into the corners of his eyes while they are closed (the inner corners). Then while the drops are still visible, have him open his eyes. The drops will flow naturally into his eyes.

A lot of the problem people have with drops is seeing that bottle come so close to their eyes. The drops aren't the problem - it's that huge looming bottle that is so close.

3 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

I think there are good suggestions for making medicine more palatable, but I also think that refusing it is not an option. It's not an option anyway, but certainly not when what the kid has is so contagious. So if he's refusing after you've tried the drop on the arm and the drop on the cheek and the drop in the corner of the eye, then you get tough. He sits still on his bed or on a chair away from everything anyone else touches (like the computer, the mouse or the TV remote), and he sits. By 7, I think you can say something along the lines of, "Well, if you want to sit here until your body magically makes itself better, and that's more fun than going to school, riding a bike, playing with friends, playing a board game with me, petting the dog (cat), holding a book or using the computer, I'm listening to you. Now, if you don't go to school, when you finally do report in, you can sit down with the principal (per school policy) and explain to her (him) that you missed out because you were too stubborn to take medicine." Similarly, if the family goes for ice cream, he sits in the back seat wearing disposable gloves and not touching anything. Including an ice cream cone because no one wants to hand it to him. If anyone in the family or among close friends asks, the answer is, "He doesn't want to get well and take his medicine so he's sitting alone because he's contagious. Once he takes his medicine and is no longer contagious, he'll rejoin us." I doubt he'll last more than an hour sitting on the couch though. If you stop fighting him, he might see that you mean business and stop fighting you. He's too big for you to hold down (and it's self-defeating anyway), but he's plenty big enough to get super bored and realize this whole thing is nonsense. If he has sensory issues, you may need other techniques though.

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M.G.

answers from Portland on

One of mine really hated the idea of drops (ears, etc.).

Doing it to yourself first helps .. just calming them right down and saying it's no different than when water gets in during shower, etc.

They just don't get what it will feel like. So put a drop on his arm. Let him get used to idea. If he gets it won't hurt or sting, it should go over better.

I know with the ear drops, sometimes laying down worked better at getting it in. Maybe have him lay down so he's not staring his neck to begin with (which might make him tense).

Sometimes the quicker the better - get it over with. Offer a popsicle afterwards and say it won't hurt once the medicine works.

Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

This is a medical/health decision.
He doesn't get to have an opinion on it - he doesn't get a say in this.
The doctor has told you what you need to do - and you need to do it - and child gets a punishment for giving you grief about it.
Depending on the type of conjunctivitis he has - not treating it could damage his eye sight for the rest of his life.
You don't get to throw up your hands with allowing him to have this attitude and you acting all helpless.
'lol'?!? - it's no laughing matter.
He's 7 - he has to take his medicine.
Pink eye is very contagious.
He needs to take his medicine and get better before he spreads it to others.
Until he's over it - no playing with others and limit what toys he plays with to things that can be easily washed.

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A.L.

answers from Chicago on

My husband looks at someone with pink eye and gets it and then the girls get it. My husband and youngest just cannot put anything in their eyes. I have them lie down on their backs, then I sit on the chest with the arms under my legs, basically pinning them to the ground and put the drops in. Obviously my husband knows this has to be done so he doesn't fight me, he just knows he can't do it. My youngest sees me do it to her father and while she doesn't like it, she will do it.

I personally think the gel is worse than the drops. The drops are put in and then it is over. The gel is messy and gets all over the eye and then smears and they complain of blurry vision from the gel. We won't do gel anymore.

Maybe show your son how you are going to do it, but either way it is going to get done. It is contagious and has to be medicated. He can either make it worse by fighting or get it done and over with.

2 moms found this helpful

T.D.

answers from New York on

yes, he fought it, i made him lay down on his back and i put the drops in that way. and i didn't let him get away with fighting me.
after the 3rd or 4th dose he realized that it was no big deal to get the drops and would just comply

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

Ask the doctor for an oral prescription. That's what our pediatrician did when our daughter wouldn't take the eye drops. Easy solution.

ETA: I'm cracking up at the "get tough" crowd. Apparently haven't dealt with trying to get drops into a child that's running away and squirming around like crazy when you do catch them. Count your blessings. No need to get physical to get the drops in. Just get the oral prescription instead.

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D..

answers from Miami on

He has no choice. Get tough with him. There's no "lol" about it! Pink eye is extremely contagious. I would be livid if I caught it from a kid (or if one of my family members caught it) whose parents didn't simply MAKE him take eyedrops.

He gets zero choice in this matter.

There are two kinds of pink eye - viral and bacterial. I have had BOTH kinds. There is a difference in the eye drops used for both. The only thing that gets rid of the pink eye is the medication. Walking around with gunk all over the eye is not acceptable, whether it's viral OR bacterial. You don't let him get away with saying no. You just don't.

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C.C.

answers from Orlando on

Just went through this with my 7 year old three weeks ago.
The first day, the drops sting when they go in. After that, it does not hurt as much. I had my little guy lie down and watch t.v. and then just put it in his eye while distracted. I also pretended to put the drops in the eyes of his beloved stuffed turtle first.
There is a cream gel that can be prescribed instead of drops. You can put on a cotton swab and then put on inner rim of eye. All the pharmacies were out of this around me, so we went with the drops. Just take control Mom, and know it won't stung as much after the first day.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Portland on

Doctors for our family have never given us drops for pink eye. I suggest you call his doctor and ask if the drops are necessary.

I just read about pink eye. There are two types; viral and bacterial. What kind does he have. Viral infection does not respond to medication. Perhaps the drops are to treat the symptoms making the eye more comfortable. Call the doctor.

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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Have him lay down on his back and close his eyes. Put a drop in the inner corner of each of his closed eyes. Then he just opens his eyes and blinks, and they will run in.

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