CONJUNCTIVITIS IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS
Got a call from daycare today saying to come pick up the boy. 15 months into his life and Conor gets pinkeye. It's medical name is conjunctivitis so I like pinkeye better. Sounds less…permanent. It's highly contagious and schools don't like it.
What exactly is conjunctivitis? It's a virus (or bacteria) that causes inflammation of the clear membrane that covers the white part of your eye.
How is it spread? Conjunctivitis is passed from one person to the next after the infected person rubs their eyes then touches another person or touches something that the next person then touches. That's really the only way you can spread pinkeye. It turns your eyes red for about 4 days and makes them really itchy. Like having sand in your eyes. It makes my eyes hurt just writing this. It usually goes away on its own but it's still important to see a doctor because there are side effects that can occur with untreated conjunctivitis and you don't want that to happen.
We took Conor to the doctor within 2 hours of the school notifying us. A common secondary condition that can occur with pinkeye is an ear infection. So the doctor checked Conor's ears and sure enough, he had an ear infection. So now we have a mild antibiotic for his ears and eye drops for his eyes. Giviing a baby eye drops is like telling an elephant to tiptoe through a petunia patch; it ain't gonna happen. The trick is to give him eye drops while his eyes are still closed in a horizontal position and when he opens his eyes, the liquid runs into the eyes and it feels good and you're a hero. Bam!
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