Does your child have red, itchy eyes that are constantly burning? Or maybe they have an increased amount of tears accompanied with white, yellow, or green discharge oozing from their eyes. If so, it is possible that your child is suffering from conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye. Although it is very uncomfortable and quite contagious, pink eye is common among children, and it is important to know what it looks like and how to treat it. Read on to learn about the best ways to prevent your child from contracting the disease as well as treatments that help relieve pain if they do get pink eye.
Pinpointing the Cause of Pink Eye in Children
In addition to the symptoms listed above, pink eye is a little bit more than just your average itchy eye. If your child is suffering from pink eye, you will most likely notice a litany of symptoms that all end in discomfort and cause the eye to appear to be red, swollen, and irritated.
Although it can be hard to tell if your child has pink eye due to a viral, bacterial, or allergic reaction, talking with a doctor can help you distinguish between the three. Understanding how your child received conjunctivitis will help you come up with the best plan to treat it, as the treatments slightly vary.
For instance, if your child is suffering from bacterial conjunctivitis your doctor may prescribe a medicine called Besivance. This particular antibiotic is great for treating pink eye in children that is caused by bacteria and is easy to administer as it comes in the form of a liquid eye drop solution.
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| Conjunctivitis. Source: cdc.gov |
In other situations, your doctor may recommend placing a compress on your child’s infected eye. If your child is experiencing a bacterial or viral infection, applying a warm compress to your child’s eye is a quick way to help alleviate some of the pain and also helps to calm young children down. However, if your child is suffering from an allergic reaction, a cool compress would work best, as well as over-the-counter anti-allergy eye drops and cool artificial tears.
Contain the Case of Pink Eye
If your child has received conjunctivitis through a bacterial or viral infection the best way to think of their pink eye is as a cold of the eyes. And like colds, there is a period where your child is highly contagious. During this period, make sure to have your child constantly wash their hands and keep their hands away from their eyes. Many children’s automatic response is to scratch an itchy eye, making it that much harder to keep the virus contained.
Also, when trying to keep the child’s pink eye from spreading to other family members, remember to make sure to keep the virus or bacteria spreading from one eye to the other. All too often, children start with one infected eye but subsequently pass on the infection to the other eye. Changing towels, washcloths, or pillowcases that the infected eye has touched is an easy way to keep the viruses and bacteria at bay.
As mentioned before, pink eye is very common in children and is, unfortunately, one of the things you will likely have to face as a parent. But with the right tools and the help of your doctor, you will be prepared to take adequate care of your child and their infected eye.
