Pink Eye and Eye Drops

I found out yesterday that Kaylyn has Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) . BTW, apparently a kid can have pink eye without the eyes actually being pink....I didn't know that!

Anyways, the Dr prescribed eye drops that I have to give her 3 times a day and I am in some serious need of some tips of how to get these drops in her eyes. She fights me like crazy, and I try to hold her down but I don't think its working. I am by myself because DH is at work, so I have to do this solo. Right now I am holding her down from behind with one hand and maneuvering the drops with my other hand. I don't even think the drops are making it in her eyes. It's so frustrating!!

 

i didn't know that either - thank you for sharing.

i'm sorry, i don't have any advice, i just wanted to give you some big :hug: s. you must be really frustrated.

 

We've been through this a couple of times and it's horrible. The best advice I got was to put the drop in the corner of the closed eye and wait until they open it and it will spread over the eye. It's still much easier said than done.

We put on their favorite show and I sit behind them with the drops cleverly concealed but within reach and already open. Then I tilt them back into the tuck of my arm and real fast get a drop in and hold them until they open their eye and blink. Sometimes you can sneak in a drop in the other eye while they still have them clenched shut. Of course after the first drop (or two if you were lucky) this often leads to chasing them around the house for the rest. If they have it in both eyes I would alternate which eye I started with. I usually try at diaper changes too, but it didn't seem to work as often.

Good luck and hope the drops clear it up quickly!

 

:hug: Poor Kaylyn! I used to sit on my son when he had pink eye and needed the drops... I used to lay him on the ground, put his arms to his sides and sit over him holding his arms against his sides with my legs, does that make sense? It was always horrible but it was the only way to do it... A good bribe worked around 2.5y, not sure if yours are ready for that :lol:
I hope she feels better soon!

 

I had to give Jack eye drops last month, and he is a fighter! My ped suggested this method:

Sit on the floor with my legs out. Lay Jack down between my legs with his head toward me, and his feet toward my feet. Put his arms under my legs to hold them down, and squeeze his head with my thighs so he can't move it. Both hands are free to open the eye and put the drops in.

I never had to use this because DH was available to help twice a day, but I though I'd pass that along in case you wanted to try it!

 

I replied to your facebook but for everyone else. How we do it in day care is lay the child on their back with eyes closed. Put the drop in the inside corners where the tear duct is and have them open their eyes. The drop falls right in. Of course a good bribe goes along with it too.

Then there is the fact that the day care teacher isn't mom so listening ears work better.

 

Thanks ladies for all your advice & Krystyn for asking the question...this is all good to know for when I might have to do this someday!

 

My son got pink eye at about 18 months... this is what I would do (similar to what others have done). Lay him on his back on the floor. Straddle myself over the top of him, so that I was pinning his arms with my legs. Use my left hand to hold his head straight, and use my right hand to put one to two drops in the corner of his eye. Wait for him to blink and it spreads over the eye. (And for anyone who hates giving eye drops to themselves, I do the same thing for myself. Lie on my back, put drops in corner and blink). I hope she feels better soon. Make sure to do lots and lots of hand washing for you and the girls so it doesn't spread! Pink eye is extremely contagious.

 

My niece had to have drops that acted like a patch, made her eye blurry so she couldn't use it. Anyway, the opthamologist suggested doing it while she was sleeping. So after she went to sleep, we would put the drops in. You could do that when she goes to bed, before she wakes up, and during naptime?

 

Eye drops for babies are no fun!
Mostly I do as pp's have said and just pin the child down with my legs so that I have both hands free, then put the drops in the corner of the eye. However Eleanor needed eye drops a few months back and the pinning down method was not working at all-she would scream and cry actual tears as soon as you had her lying down so any drops just got washed right out. For her it was easier if I lay her down, sat next to her, and got something for her to look at (toy/book/whatever). Then I would wave the object around over her head or let her hold it if she wanted to and quickly put the drops in. She knew what was coming and would fuss a bit but not cry, the thing she hated was being held still.
I like the idea of doing it while she sleeps, if she's a sound sleeper I'd try that.

I hope it clears up quickly and no-one else gets it.