The Dreaded Pink Eye

One day you wake up and all your kid's eyes are pink. Pink eye, or pinkeye, is a common name for a condition known medically as conjunctivitis. It's really contagious and can be passed from sheets, towels, pillowcases, hand to eye contact, Kleenex…you name it. Basically it is an inflammation of the clear membrane that covers the white part of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelids. It becomes bumpy and irritated and starts discharging pus sometimes too.

Pink eye looks worse than it is because suddenly your kid has the eyes of an albino rabbit. There is also an infectious version of it but the infectious pink eye is much more common.

The same viruses that cause colds, sinus infections, ear infections and sore throats usually cause infectious pink eye. The same types of bacteria that cause gonorrhea and Chlamydia also cause pink eye.

Non-infections pink eye is the consequence of long term inflammation and irrational. It tends to occur more among children who have allergies. All kinds of allergens like ragweed, pollen, grass, animal dander and dust mites can also cause pink eye.

The culprit can also be substance from the environment. This includes soaps, perfume, makeup and chlorine. If you are smoking and your kid has pink eye then you are probably the culprit.

There is another type of pink eye known as giant papillary pink eye or GPC (Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis). Usually, this type occurs only to those who wear contact lenses.

Pink Eye symptoms generally depend on whether you have infectious pink eye or non-infectious pink eye.

Symptoms caused by viral and bacterial pink eye include red watery eyes (and irritation. It is likely to start in one eye and spread to the other. Keep your kids away from each other while this is going on, as it can be really hard to get rid of. Don't let older children with pink eye handle babies.

Get your kids to a doctor if you suspect pink eye. It is only treated with antibiotics. This is no time to fool around with natural remedies. You can also get antibiotic ointments over the counter. If the pain is really severe or if the eyelids are sticking together in the morning after sleeping try using warm water over the eyelids.

There is a viral type that does not cause pink eye except in small children. Special drops are sometimes prescribed by a doctor to help relieve the swelling, pain and inflammation. The redness is unattractive but some kids don't find it painful. Thankfully it is harmless and very rarely causes any kind of long term damage to the eye. Still it should be treated just in case of complications that could compromise the vision.

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Does Your Kid Have Lazy Eye?

Lazy eye is a confusing disorder. This is because the eye does not always look 'lazy.' It is a disorder between the coordination of the brain and eye and it usually starts in childhood. It causes the body to favor one eye over the other.
Lazy eye is a disorder of the coordination between the eye and the brain, usually Amblyopia is the medical name for it. The problem is one eye does all the work while the other gets weaker and weaker.

Poor blurry vision in an eye that otherwise seems normal is the main symptom. It is caused by poor transmission of the visual image to the brain from eye in childhood. It is a temporary condition in most cases — thank goodness!

By the way it is possible to suffer form this in both eyes. That is very rare. The one eyed ambyopia is more common. About five percent of kids (one in twenty) might suffer from it. Many people are not even aware they ever have it. This is because it is normal to have slightly stronger vision in one eye.

Sometimes this eye looks so lazy it can actually stray. Mainly it causes poor depth perception. This is rare. Having a crossed eye or turned eye is a completely different eye condition. It is called strabismus. However lazy eye and crossed eyes and turned eyes seem to be used all the time to describe both ambyopia and everything else.

The way to determine whether or not your child has this condition is to take him or her in for a special test called a visual acuity test. It is not done with the letter chart we usually associate with determining eye problems.

A large number of kids with lazy eye go unnoticed until they have their eyes examined when they get older. Therefore, comprehensive vision evaluations by a trained and qualified vision professional are the best idea even for pre-school kids. You don't want your child going through school with undiagnosed compromised vision! Yet it can so easily happen.

Treatment options for lazy eye include glasses, drops, and certain vision therapies, possibly including the use of a patch. Sure you're kid will look like a pirate but at least he will be able to see the chalkboard. Good thing Pirates of the Caribbean was such a hit and pirates are so cool. However expect little girls to have a harder time with corrective eye patch than boys.

You also need to catch this early. Recent research has shown it can be treated until the kid is seventeen. Improvements are possible at any age but the best chance of correcting completely is catching the lazy eye while your child is still a kid.

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