Have you noticed red or pink color in the white part of your kid’s eye? If yes, then it’s time to know the most common infection in called pink eye.
Pink eye is more commonly noticed in toddlers and younger children. It causes discoloration of the eye and discomfort in both children and adults. It is highly contagious. Let’s have a deep look into the pink eye, it’s symptoms, treatment and home remedies further in this article.
What is Pink Eye in Child?
It is ans infection or inflammation that causes the transparent eye ball covering membrane called conjunctiva to become red or pink. Pink Eye is also known as conjunctivitis. Redness occurs because of the inflammation caused to the white covering part of the eye ball.
It is usually caused by the bacteria or virus.
Causes of Pink Eye in Child:
Triggers of the Pink Eye include:
Virus & Bacteria: Pink eye due to both bacterial and viral infections may occur along with the symptoms like cold or a respiratory infection. This occurs mainly if you wear the contact lens of others or the contact lens of yourself which are not properly cleaned.
One or both the eyes may be affected.
Allergens: It is an allergic condition which occurs as a result of eye exposure to the allergy causing substances like dust, pollen, smoke etc. These allergens may make your body to produce histamines that cause inflammation. This results in a condition called allergic pink eye. Use of contacts or artificial eye for longer times may lead to pink eye.
People with the seasonal allergies are prone to be affected by this allergic pink eye.
Irritants: A chemical substance or foreign body can easily creation inflammation in the eye. A few examples of chemicals include chlorine which is present in the waters of the swimming pool and the ingredients of the cosmetics.
Blocked Tear duct: Some babies are born with a piece of tissue that covers the tear ducts. Blocked tear ducts may open on their own in a few months. If they do not open, there are few treatments like massage, tear duct probing, balloon catheter dilation, intubation, surgery etc.
How does Pink Eye Spread:
Following are the means through which the pink eye is spread from one child to another child easily:
a) Direct Contact:
It spreads easily when a child with pink eyes touches the discharge and touches another child.
b) Indirect Contact:
If any substance that is contaminated by the affected person comes in contact with the other person.
c) Droplets:
When the pink eye is caused from the common cold then the droplets that results from the coughing or squeezing may cause the infection.
Signs and Symptoms of Pink Eye in Child:
Here are a few children’s pink eye symptoms:
- Redness in the eye
- Your child may experience continuous tears from the eyes.
- Eye yields are swollen
- A discharge from the eyes which may be in the color of yellow. Discharge may make the eye lids sticky when they sleep. The discharge may get dry and collected at the corners of the eye.
- Itchy eyes with a great intensity of discomfort
Home Remedies for Pink Eye in Child:
Here are a few remedies to get rid of pink eye in child:
1. Cold Compress:
Pink eye may cause extreme levels of discomfort in your child. Warm compress will help to soothe the pain and discomfort.
How to use cold compress:
- Take a clean and washed cloth and soak it in the warm or cold water.
- Squeeze out the excess water and place it gently over your kid’s eyes fro sometime.
Note: It is not recommended to reuse the cloth without washing. Reused cloth may further lead to the reinfection of the eye.
2. Eye Drops:
To soothe the burning sensation or irritation in the eye, lubricating eye drops or “natural tears are recommend”.
Eye drops will help to relieve all types of symptoms associated with the pink eye by flushing out the irritants, and infactants. Always use the eye drops recommended by your doctor.
3. Avoid Contact lens:
If your child has contact lens avoid using them till pink eye is cleared. Because bacteria and virus that may host in the lens may reinfect the pink eye.
4. Honey:
Honey has been widely used in the natural healing traditions for many years. Honey is well known to reduce irritation and inflammation in the eye. It helps to kill the bacteria causing the infections. It is not recommended to put the drops of honey in the eye without diluting.
A study published in the 2004 noticed the remarkable benefits of honey for treating eye infection.
- Take 2-3 tablespoons of honey and add it to a cup of lukewarm water.
- Using a clean dropper, put 1-2 drops of this fluid in each of the infected eye for every few hours.
5. Tea Bags:
Tea bags will help in enhancing the appearance of the ears by reducing the dark circles, puffiness, and redness. They help to soothe and treat various infections in the eyes like styes and pink eyes.
Initially place a cool black or chamomile wet bag over the infected eye for 2 minutes. Then place the warm bag for five minutes. Alternate cold and hot compress will help to eliminate the toxins and debris without swelling.
6. Salt Water:
Salt water or saline water is well known to treat any kind of eye infections. Saline, being similar to the tears will help in cleansing the eyes its self.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt in boiled and cooled water. Dip the cotton swab in this solution and gently clean the dried discharge.
7. Breast milk:
It is well known myth that breast milk helps to fight against the eye infections. But many researches suggest that breast milk may further cause serious infections in baby’s eye by introducing the new bacteria.
Check with your doctor before using any home remedy to treat the infections in your baby’s sensitive eye.
8. Raw Potato slices:
Potatoes are rich in enzymes, Vitamin C, and Starch that nourish the thin skin around the eye. Potato with its coldness helps to reduce inflammation, and swelling of the blood vessels underneath the eye.
How to Wash:
1. wash the raw potato and cut it into thin slices.
2. Place a slice over the infected eye and leave it for 5-10 minutes to yield better results.
3. Never reuse the same slice. Take a fresh slice every time.
Diet to Avoid Eye Infections:
1. Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is mainly known to enhance the vision and helps to protect the eye from the vision impairments or infections.
It is recommended to consume the Vitamin A rich foods if your child is infected with pink eye.
Some of the vitamin A rich foods are:
- Eggs
- Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables
- Broccoli, spinach, and dark green leafy vegetables etc
2. Zinc and Vitamin E:
- Vitamin E will help to reduce the age related macular degeneration. Sunflower seeds and nuts are the rich source of vitamin E.
- Zinc will help to reduce the the risk of macular degeneration and night blindness. It will help the body to absorb more Vitamin A.
Treatment of Pink Eye in Child:
Doctors will usually prescribe the medication to relieve the symptoms.
- Antibiotic eye drops are not recommended because it does not work well with the viral pink eye infections.
- If the viral conjuctivitis is caused by the herpes simplex virus then antiviral medications are preferred by your doctor.
- If your child suffers from allergic conjunctivitis, then any of the following drugs are prescribed- decongestants, steroids and anti inflammatory drops.
When to See a Doctor?
In most the cases pink eye relieves on it’s own. Here are a few conditions that require immediate medical attention:
- Pain in the eyes
- If your child encounters blurred vision
- Fever
- Headache and body aches
- It is always recommended to see the doctor if your child has any previous history of eye infections.
How to avoid spreading Pinkeye?
Most of the bacteria and viruses that causing pink eye are highly contagious.
The following are a few tips that you should teach your child to avoid the spreading of the pink eye:
- Ask your child not to rub the affected area continuously.
- Allow them to wash their hands often regularly with the disinfectants
- Wash the pillow cases and bed sheets often and soak them in the hot water before washing
- Ask them to avoid wearing the old lenses.
- Do not allow your kid to use or come in contact with the cosmetic products.
- Always wash your hands if your child has pink eye
- Don not allow your infected child to eat or touch the things without washing hands.
In conclusion, secure child’s innocent eyes from the infections and help them to get relief from the discomforts like pinkeye with the 10 best home remedies presented in this article.
