Any tips on giving eye drops to a 1yo?

[Convex]

My son has started to really hate medicine after a week of cal pol and cough syrup,

I now have to add antibiotics which is bad enough but..... EYE DROPS!

How on earth do I do it?

He is very strong and also flexible s can get out of my husbands grip fairly quickly.

Any tips?

Ps anyone worried about the week of cal pol, it's all on docs orders.

[Saffron]

Never had to give eyedrops to my toddler, but I have had to give them to my cat!

Make sure the drops are at body temperature. A cold drop in the eye can be really unpleasant. I put Kitty's eyedrops in my bra (pocket would also work, but don't sit on them!) for a few minutes before dosing her. Then Hubbie and I double-teamed her to get it over quickly, with one of us holding her snuggly and the other giving the drops. Then lots of treats and cuddles. I would do the same if it were my child.

Have you tried the drops on yourself? If they really sting your eyes, they will sting your LO's eyes too. Ask for a different formulation if that's the case, but hopefully they've taken that into account for paediatric drops.

No one in our house has been well since mid-October. As soon as someone is well, someone else is sick (including the pets). Lots of sympathy to you. xx

[jennyh]

My toddler had a nasty reoccuring eye infection around 1 year old and you have my sympathies. The way we managed to do it was to make a fun game out of it, there was no pinning her down as we quickly realised she hated that. Instead I had to have a go, as did her dad, the dolly had a drop and then we got very excited and made lots of whoooing noises as she had a drop. Often it didn't really go in but my mother in law (a GP) said that as long as some got in it would do some good. We let her feel that she had control so she would hold the drops a lot, look at them closely etc so it wasn't a scary thing that she didn't understand. We tried not to sneak up on her with it.

Also keep wiping with slightly salted boiled water and cotton wool, that can provide some relief if their eyes are itchy and gloopy.

Good luck!

[Convex]

Thanks Saffron.

Will try them myself first. After I've warmed them up of course!

[Convex]

Thanks Jenny. Will try that too.

[hellosailor]

if it's the conjunctivitis drops, they come in ointment form too, so if you find it a real struggle to get them in you can always go back to GP for the ointment, which is more effective in any case as it has twice the active ingredient in

xx

[hazelnunhead]

I have put them in my daughter's eye at this age when she was asleep! You put the drop in the corner of their eye, they blink and hopefully it goes in .... not the best, but the only way I could do it at one point!

[Saffron]

jennyh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My toddler had a nasty reoccuring eye infection

> around 1 year old and you have my sympathies. The

> way we managed to do it was to make a fun game out

> of it, there was no pinning her down as we quickly

> realised she hated that.

Ugh, no, being pinned down sounds awful (even my cat would hate that!).

> Instead I had to have a

> go, as did her dad, the dolly had a drop and then

> we got very excited and made lots of whoooing

> noises as she had a drop. Often it didn't really

> go in but my mother in law (a GP) said that as

> long as some got in it would do some good.

Funny enough, our vet said the same thing about Kitty's eyedrops.

>

> Also keep wiping with slightly salted boiled water

> and cotton wool, that can provide some relief if

> their eyes are itchy and gloopy.

>

Sainsbury's sells a soft rubbery type of baby sponge that my daughter loves to rub her eyes with in the bath. I tried it, and it's lovely. A really soothing texture... I'll try to look up which one it is.

And also just to say, for anyone who's still b/fing, I've heard that you can use breastmilk in the eyes because of its high antibody content (though I never tried this myself -- would love to know if it really works).

[boyohboy]

My brother is an optician and he recommends for babies and toddlers that you put the drop in the corner of their eye, even if their eye is closed because the liquid will seep in gently and not cause stress to the child. It works, one of mine had rotten conjunctivitis and it worked a treat. Hope this helps

[Convex]

Thanks, in the inner corners?

[TE44]

I used breastmilk on my daughters eyes when she was a baby, and it worked. I use castor oil for eye infections, as babies I wiped it over eyes when sleeping, its harder and more expensive to get now, it worked everytime.

[Helen GV]

Have also used breast Milk for eyes and it definitely works. I also used bm once to unblock my sons nose as i didnt have any saline solution, figured it was the only sterile liquid available! Also worked ;0)

[sanity girl]

When I had to give my daughter eye drops when she was smaller I did it when she was asleep (she was almost 3 at the time). When younger and I was still bfeeding I just squirted a bit of breastmilk in her eye and that seemed to do the trick!

[Convex]

I would like to report that the following has worked:

For me, while drowsy/almost asleep

For my other half, catching him unawares then distracting him straight after

[Pickle]

I am a mean Mummy, have always used the pin 'em down approach!

[Convex]

Well that's what we do for his cal pol and antibiotics. It's awful!