# Baby's entire eye crusted shut in the morning...worried



## cheeseRjedi (Jun 5, 2005)

So this morning, my baby girl got up to eat and her entire left eye was crusted shut. That's the side she was sleeping on for most of the night. I'm kinda freaking out, as she looked pretty uncomfortable, and that has never happened before. I got most of it off and she went back to bed. I think I'm going to call my midwife in a bit.

Anyone know any possible reasons or has this happened to anyone else?


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## Hoopin' Mama (Sep 9, 2004)

It sounds like conjuctivitis, which can be cleared up with some eyedrops.
My son had crusty eyes every morning due to blocked tear ducts, but if this has never happened before, I would guess it's conjuctivitis.
The drops clear it up pretty quickly, they're just a bugger to get in.
Good luck.


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## Hoopin' Mama (Sep 9, 2004)

.....i edited this b/c I am in no way qualified to be giving out herbal solutions for a baby.


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## ExuberantDaffodil (May 22, 2005)

Are you breastfeeding? My mom's best friend, who is a pediatric nurse, recomends dropping some breast milk in the eye to help clear up any infection. Several moms I know swear by the same thing. If it doesn't clear up, you should probably have your DC checked by a health professional just to be on the safe side.


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## swedemom (Mar 11, 2005)

yes, breast milk if you have it is what we were recomended by our nurse to use for it.


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## LoveChild421 (Sep 10, 2004)

this happened to ds just yesterday! He has a slight cold, we took him to the Dr. and she said there was no infection- it has gotten better and was only slightly boogery this morning.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

It could be a blocked tear duct. Do a search for info on blocked tear ducts and how to massage them. If that's what it is you'll probably get gunk out when you massage.

Either way - squirt breastmilk in there- it will clear it right up!

-Angela


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## sistermama (May 6, 2003)

Do you have a ped open to natural remedies? We all went through pink eye last month, including our babe and found that the Similisan pink eye drops worked just as quickly and effectively as the antibiotic we first got for ds. They do say not to use them if the eye is crusty, but our ped told us that was because they were covering for liability so that you would go see your doctor.


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## kwilki8 (May 24, 2005)

My dd had this just this morning, too! Hers is a blocked tear duct. Our ped told us that if the crusty stuff (and the mucous that tends to accumulate during the day) is a clear or yellowish color that it is more likely the tear duct than an infection. She has also had an eye infection, and that was a nasty greenish color. Another sign of a blocked tear duct can be a watery, teary-eyed appearance when she is awake. We use plain sterile eyedrops and massage to clear the duct.


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

At about the same age (a few weeks old), dd also had a blocked tear duct, which made her eye crust over daily. We massaged it to open the tear duct, and it cleared up within a few days. If it's a tear duct that hasn't opened, breastmilk won't really help, since the tear duct has to be opened through time and/or massage, but it won't hurt either. I will say that that same eye gets crusty more often even now at 16 months old when dd has a cold. We just do the same massaging and it helps.


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## cheeseRjedi (Jun 5, 2005)

thanks everyone for all your input.

so i guess it sounds like a blocked tear duct. after we wiped the crusty stuff away, she kept producing yellowish discharge in the corner of her eye and the whole area was slightly swollen. i read in this book i have (smart medicine for a healthier child) that a warm compress would help, so i did that for 5 minutes. it seemed to make the swelling go down a bit (plus it cleaned out some of the gunk) and DD fell asleep. i will definitely look into massaging it out.

and yes, i am exclusively breastfeeding. i will try dropping a few drops in her eye if this keeps up. funny, when her belly button was still bleeding from her cord falling off, i read that dripping some breastmilk in there would clear it up and it did. breastmilk is like a mutating remedy - it's good for everything!


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## pixiexto (Mar 6, 2003)

I'd definitely use some breastmilk in it, and probalby wouldn't even bother with a wait & see approach. It can't hurt







This happened to our second DD when she was only a few weeks old. I'm still not sure if it was a mild infection or a blocked duct, but the breastmilk did the trick!


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