Pink Eye?

I'm wondering if my little one might have pink eye:



I couldn't get him to be still for a photo, so that's the best I could do. I noticed it this evening, and I asked him if he'd been rubbing his eyes or if his brother had done something to his eye (with two little boys, this is one of the first questions to ask when there is an injury of any kind). He said no, it felt fine, nothing had happened to it.

It looks decidedly pink.

I don't want to take him to school with pink eye, but I don't want to keep him home if it's just one of those weird, unexplainable boy injuries that pops up.

What do you think? Pink eye?
15,351 views 49 replies
Reply #1 Top
Let's see ... you're asking about the left eye? (the one on the right in the pic).

If so, there's not really enough detail (too dark) to differentiate between normal and "pink". It does look a little more swollen and puffy (like pink eye does) than the other eye.

Wouldn't hurt to get him checked out. How hard is it to get a pediatric appointment there at the clinic on Schofield?
Reply #2 Top
Chaos Manager:
Let's see ... you're asking about the left eye? (the one on the right in the pic)


Yes.

If so, there's not really enough detail (too dark) to differentiate between normal and "pink"


Sadly, that's best I could get with him wiggling and being silly.

It does look a little more swollen and puffy (like pink eye does) than the other eye.


I'm thinking it does, but I don't have a whole lot of experience with pink eye.

Wouldn't hurt to get him checked out. How hard is it to get a pediatric appointment there at the clinic on Schofield?


I might be able to get him in tomorrow if I call early enough...haha...I guess how fast we could get in depends a lot on how urgent an issue the receptionist sees pink eye as.

Thanks for your help.
Reply #3 Top
First, I am not a doctor, so my opinion here is worth exactly what you paid for it. That said, I would never send a child to school if I suspected in the least that they have pink eye. I see no reason why a knowlegeable adult should not go to work with it though. The difference being that pink eye is very contagious in children due to the way that they will rub there eyes and then interact with other children. An adult who is conscientious will avoid rubbing their eyes, but will thoroughly wash their hands immediately if they do rub them. This is too much to ask of children.

When I had pink eye (twice) it was obvious in both eyes Anti-biotic eye drops were prescribed in both cases, and visible signs began to disappear with 24 hours. Always finish the course with any prescribed anti-biotics. Stopping when the symptoms disappear can lead to disaster. Hope this helps.
Reply #4 Top
That sounds best. In kids, Pink Eye is not something to play around with. And the school is likely to start hollering if he even walks in the door with something that LOOKS like pink eye.

Funny story. When my oldest was in 1st grade (2nd of 2 years that he attended public school), he had a sty in his eye. Just a clogged tear duct that was being cared for with saline drops. He'd even been seen by the doctor and pronounced good to go for school. No dice. I got a call at the office from the school nurse saying that I should get up there and pick him up. When I got there, I got reamed by the Asst. Principal and the nurse for daring to let my son come to school like that. They didn't even blink when I presented them with the note from the doctor that stated it wasn't Pink Eye and that he could go to school. They all but picked us up and tossed us in the street.

Gah!!

This is one of those things where it's better to be safe, than sorry.

Hope the little guy feels better.
Reply #5 Top
I tried to get a better picture and came up with this:



Of course, both eyes look pretty much the same in this photo. Looking at him closely though, I still see what looks like a smudge of pink under his eye and from to corner out to almost the middle of his eyelid. I have to admit, it doesn't look anywhere near as pink and puffy now as it did earlier.

And the other pic I got...



Apparently I took it before he was ready, hehe.

Bunnahabhain:
That said, I would never send a child to school if I suspected in the least that they have pink eye.


I definitely wouldn't send him to school with pink eye, but I also don't want him to miss a day of instruction simply because I overreacted and assumed he had it when he didn't.

Better safe than sorry, though, I suppose.

An adult who is conscientious will avoid rubbing their eyes, but will thoroughly wash their hands immediately if they do rub them. This is too much to ask of children.


I agree.

When I had pink eye (twice) it was obvious in both eyes Anti-biotic eye drops were prescribed in both cases, and visible signs began to disappear with 24 hours.


I wonder if it's significant that he only has one pink and puffy eye? If he does have it, he's gonna HATE eye drops. And his daddy's gone, so I'll have to be the one to administer them. Ugh.

Hope this helps.


Yes, thank you.

I'm thinking maybe I should check again and see how his eye looks in the morning before deciding either way.
Reply #6 Top
CM:
That sounds best. In kids, Pink Eye is not something to play around with. And the school is likely to start hollering if he even walks in the door with something that LOOKS like pink eye.


I can imagine. It's my understanding that it's insanely contagious.

I got reamed by the Asst. Principal and the nurse for daring to let my son come to school like that. They didn't even blink when I presented them with the note from the doctor that stated it wasn't Pink Eye and that he could go to school. They all but picked us up and tossed us in the street.


Wow. It's a fine line to walk. The schools REALLY don't want sick kids in class...but they also REALLY don't want a kid to miss a day of instruction for no good reason.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I have to say, though, no sty I've ever seen has looked anything like any pink eye I've ever seen (which is admittedly not a whole lot of either, but still...they look quite different).

This is one of those things where it's better to be safe, than sorry.


I suppose that's right.

Hope the little guy feels better.


Haha, it's not bothering him one bit. And he's enjoying having his photo taken. Hehe.
Reply #7 Top
Is it pus-y?
Reply #8 Top
history:
Is it pus-y?


No, he's a little boy.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. My apologies.

Hehe.

No, it doesn't have any pus or signs of infection. Just a little puffy and pink.
Reply #9 Top
His eye does look a bit irritated, but it doesn't look like pink eye (of course, you might want to take him to the doc or have the nurse check it out just in case). From what I know of pink eye, his eye would have that icky, crusty stuff on it, and there would be some discharge.

He has killer eyelashes, btw...he probably won't like them described as "pretty", but they are. lol
Reply #10 Top
InBloom:
His eye does look a bit irritated, but it doesn't look like pink eye (of course, you might want to take him to the doc or have the nurse check it out just in case).


Thank you. As a classroom teacher, I'm sure you've seen your fair share of pink eye, so I find your comments particularly helpful.

From what I know of pink eye, his eye would have that icky, crusty stuff on it, and there would be some discharge.


Good. He doesn't have any of that (yet, anyways). I'm going to watch it closely and see about getting an appt. just in case.

He has killer eyelashes, btw...he probably won't like them described as "pretty", but they are. lol


Thank you. He gets 'em from his daddy, unfortunately. Hehe. I'm dying to have a daughter with eyelashes like that.

(Believe it or not, he gets comments on them everywhere we go!)
Reply #11 Top
Pus-y... a word you can say with a straight face, but when you type it, you get in all kinds of trouble.
Reply #12 Top
He gets 'em from his daddy, unfortunately. Hehe. I'm dying to have a daughter with eyelashes like that.


Why is it guys always have the lashes that the ladies would kill for? And why is it the ladies are constantly trying to add curl to their hair and I'm trying to get rid of them? (My hair is just a bit past my shoulders when blown dry, just below my ears when air dryed - all the curls, and between my shoulder blades when wet).

I said the same thing, Brandie, when my three boys all turned out to have the same lashes (they got it from me, or so I'm told). Then, my little girl has got some of the prettiest lashes (and darling blue eyes), that I've ever seen. I know she got those from her mom, though. Mine are hazel.

Hope the little guy is doing okay this morning.
Reply #13 Top
Pink eye (aka conjunctivitis) is characterised by the inner membrane of the eye being very red (dark pink) and oozing prolific amounts of what looks like green/yellow eye boogers. My kids all had it...they woke up with their eyes crusted shut some mornings. The outside of their eyes looked fine, it was the inside that was messed up. They had to get antibiotic drops and we had to be incredibly fastitious about infection control.

If his eyes aren't oozing or crusty I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Reply #14 Top

Is it pus-y?


No, he's a little boy.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. My apologies.

Hehe.

*Groan* - Bad Pun!

When in doubt, have a doctor check it out.  The pictures are hard to determine as Chaos said.  So a Doctor Visit is usually quick and pretty accurate, and it will start the treatment sooner if it is Pink Eye.

Reply #15 Top
I agree with the crusty oozing part, if his eyes aren't like that or doesn't even burn in any way, then he's probably just having regular allergies. The weather is changing in most places now so it's probably that. But if you're still worried, get him checked out by his peds.

And he does have killer eyelashes!
Reply #16 Top
history:
Pus-y... a word you can say with a straight face, but when you type it, you get in all kinds of trouble.


Haha...my apologies. Very immature of me. Hehe.

CM:
Why is it guys always have the lashes that the ladies would kill for? And why is it the ladies are constantly trying to add curl to their hair and I'm trying to get rid of them?


Exactly! Why is that?

Then, my little girl has got some of the prettiest lashes (and darling blue eyes), that I've ever seen. I know she got those from her mom, though.


Awww...your kids sound precious!

Hope the little guy is doing okay this morning.


Yep. He's fine. I checked his eye this morning. No crust or goo. Not pink anymore. I guess I DID overreact a bit, haha.

dharma:
Pink eye (aka conjunctivitis) is characterised by the inner membrane of the eye being very red (dark pink) and oozing prolific amounts of what looks like green/yellow eye boogers.


Nasty! Luckily, he's not showing any signs of pink eye at all today.

My kids all had it...they woke up with their eyes crusted shut some mornings. The outside of their eyes looked fine, it was the inside that was messed up. They had to get antibiotic drops and we had to be incredibly fastitious about infection control.


Hmmm...this is good info. Thank you.

If his eyes aren't oozing or crusty I don't think you have anything to worry about.


Nope. They look fine today.

Dr.Guy:
*Groan* - Bad Pun!


Is there any other kind? Haha.

When in doubt, have a doctor check it out. The pictures are hard to determine as Chaos said. So a Doctor Visit is usually quick and pretty accurate, and it will start the treatment sooner if it is Pink Eye.


I haven't decided yet whether to take him in. It wasn't bothering him at all and he didn't have any of the signs the folks on here mentioned...and it's not pink anymore, lol. I'll probably look at it again today after school and go from there.

Glad to see you back, btw.

foreverserenity:
I agree with the crusty oozing part, if his eyes aren't like that or doesn't even burn in any way, then he's probably just having regular allergies.


You know, that may be it. He does rub his eyes from time to time (and never remembers that he did it, lol)...so he may be experiencing some allergies.

But if you're still worried, get him checked out by his peds.


I'm going to keep an eye on it. (haha, there's a bad pun for ya) If he is having some allergy discomfort I may need to take him in for that anyways.

And he does have killer eyelashes!


Thank you. (And KNOWS how to use them, too!)
Reply #17 Top
When my daughter had pink eye, she was terrified of drops too. I had her lay down and close her eyes, not scrunched up but just relaxed. Then I put two drops on the inner corner of her eye and had her open her eyes. The drops went right in and she wasn't very traumatized.

Just a hint to try if you ever have to subject your little man to eye-drops.
Reply #18 Top
xtine:
Just a hint to try if you ever have to subject your little man to eye-drops.


Thanks. I appreciate that. He's not a big fan of medicine, and I've had to chase him down to give him liquid meds before, but as he gets older, he's becoming easier to reason with. Your technique sounds good...very calm, not so scary, and something that could be explained to him step by step before I do it so that he's more likely to cooperate.

little whip:
It could have just been a scratch or something, or a sty, too.


My boys always pop up with scratches and bumps, lol. They tell on each other a lot, but still end up with mystery injuries that neither one of them feels inclined to explain.

I think maybe he just rubbed his eye really hard and then forgot that he did it.

You're right about those beautiful eyes/eyelashes, but don't assume your little girl (assuming you have one some day) will be similarly blessed. My brother had drop-dead-take-your-breath-away-so-dark-blue-they-were-almost-purple eyes with lush, long, black eyelashes. And me? Heh, well....i got cold-steel-greyish-blue ones with fine, light lashes.


Haha...well...I have this feeling that I'm going to be an all-boy kinda mom. And further, that if I do have a girl, she'll look like me. Gah. That's how things seem to work, lol.

When you described your eyes, above, it sounded just like you were describing mine! Adrian has really neat eyes...they are rimmed with blue, a light brown all around, and then specks of green around the pupil. And he has Orian's eyelashes times ten! Just beautiful! I think my boys got the best of both worlds. Xavier has light blue-greenish eyes and Orian has green with hints of brown. Gorgeous kids, I tell ya!

But at least I got the red hair! (and i look kick-ass in emerald green contacts, too, hehe.)


I bet so! I love red hair. Curious, do you wear a lot of green to play up that contrast?
Reply #19 Top
Here's a pic of both the boys from a few months ago. They both have the long eyelashes, but the little one's are dark and curled...my oldest's are light and straight.



(Hey, any excuse to post pics of my kids!)
Reply #20 Top

(haha, there's a bad pun for ya)

Thought you said that was the only kind?

And thanks for the welcome!  Great Pics.  They will not be that young any longer!

Reply #21 Top
Dr.Guy:
Thought you said that was the only kind?


Hehe. I guess the "bad" in the phrase was superfluous!

And thanks for the welcome!




Great Pics. They will not be that young any longer!


Thanks! They do grow so fast. I can vividly remember what they were like as infants. They amaze me!
Reply #22 Top
Off subject....the middle school years and beyond are going to suck for you,. those boys are too handsome so all those loose little girls are going to be writing them notes and calling your house- I am there now and can't believe how forward these girls are....note to self, lock Maggie Grace up until she is 30.
Reply #23 Top
Off subject....the middle school years and beyond are going to suck for you,. those boys are too handsome so all those loose little girls are going to be writing them notes and calling your house- I am there now and can't believe how forward these girls are....note to self, lock Maggie Grace up until she is 30.
Reply #24 Top
Infantry Wife:
Off subject...


Haha, unless I write something incredibly serious (not often!), nothing's off topic on my threads.

the middle school years and beyond are going to suck for you,. those boys are too handsome so all those loose little girls are going to be writing them notes and calling your house- I am there now and can't believe how forward these girls are


I think both my boys are gorgeous, but since I'm their mom, I don't know how much my opinion counts for, hehe. I am VERY alarmed by how forward even little kids are about relationships and sexuality now.

note to self, lock Maggie Grace up until she is 30


I don't blame ya for feeling that way. As much as I want a daughter, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to raise a girl up to be modest and respectful of herself with all the influences girls have tugging on them nowadays.
Reply #25 Top
I don't blame ya for feeling that way. As much as I want a daughter, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to raise a girl up to be modest and respectful of herself with all the influences girls have tugging on them nowadays.


Speaking from experience (now), it can be rather ... trying. Of course, my little angel is only 4, so I've not really hit the trouble spots yet. She's the darling of the family, though. With three very protective older brothers ... her future boyfriends are in so much trouble.

That reminds me ... need to get a bigger drill, some heavy duty masonry drill bits, and the wrought iron grills from Home Depot. I've got to put the bars on her windows this weekend. Before I forget.