Good morning, pinkeye

Woke up to definite pinkeye in poor Joe today.

Just waiting for the peds office to open so we can get in for the drops.

Already dreading how to get my 2.5-year old to stop fighting long enough to allow me to administer them.

Ugh.

 

Yikes, that stinks and I don't envy you there!

The only thing I can think of that may help is to sit on the floor cross-legged and have them sitting on your lap facing away from you (so you're the same direction) and wrap one of your legs over theirs. Then use your non dominant hand/arm to contain their arm on the same side and use your thumb to pull the lower eye lid down to make a pouch to put the drops in instead of trying to aim for the actual eyeball. Put the drops in with the dominant/slightly free hand. That's how we administer glaucoma drops (minus the wrestling hold...although some of the elderly I've worked with...I would have been easier if I could have done it that way!), I'm assuming pinkeye/abx drops would be the same.

GL!

 

Another thing to try:

With the child laying down, place the drops at the side of the nose so that they kind of "roll" down into the eye. This allows the drops to warm up before getting to the eye.

 

Best of luck! I basically use the wrestling moves mentioned above. They work well and as long as it is quick, we are okay.

 

I have a lot of experience with using the drops, but I dont really have any suggestions, b/c my DS does really well sometimes and others he doesnt want anything to do with it.

You could request the gel instead though. They have a clear gel antibiotic as well, they actually prescribed that for him when he was about 6months. You have to wipe it inside their eye lid. I dont know whats worse.

 

Sorry to hear it -- we're on our second round in 2 weeks. (Hints: Do both eyes, even if he only has pinkeye in one. Keep doing the drops for the whole 5 days. And give drops to both kids now, because Nick will inevitably get it too.)

We have the kids lie down on the couch -- one parent holds their hands while the other pries the eye open and shoots the drop in. (If only one parent is available, either they hold each others' hands -- which is adorable -- or we have the drop-ee squeeze a stuffed animal.)

I usually sort of straddle them on the couch so I can pin the upper body down with one forearm if I need to. But for the most part they don't really struggle, though they do squeeze their eyes shut and I have to pry them open. Sometimes I can get one to open for a split second if I say "Look at the ceiling!" (You have to have the drop ready.) But after 8 days of drops, they're not falling for that anymore.

I wish the ped would give us that ointment. We had that when Amy had clogged tear ducts as an infant, and it was way easier. But I guess they think the drops are more effective?

 

Thanks, guys. I couldn't get an apt. until 3pm (good-bye, nap <_< )! I'd love to trade kids with you for the next 5 days, Minette. I had some drops left over from our last round (Joe managed to get it about this time last year too), and decided to use it....It was NOT pretty. He goes into full-on panic mode. Thrashing back and forth (body one way, head the other), flicking his head back and forth, up and down, eyes squeezed so tight...ugh. I have to giggle at the thought of a stuffed animal solving the problem. I'm considering taking him down and putting him in the car seat so I only have the head to deal with.