How to take care of a child with pink eye?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by CKI Doctor Nguyen Thi Bich Nhi - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital
Pink eye disease in children, although benign, is not without dangerous complications. Some possible complications of pink eye are: fibrous keratitis, spotted keratitis, deep keratitis, purulent lacrimal sac,... Even more dangerous can cause corneal scarring, failure reduced eyesight. So how to take care of a baby with red eyes?

1. How to take care of a child with pink eye?

Children with pink eye are often fussy, so it is necessary to have eye care measures to make them more comfortable. Parents are often confused as to what to do with a child with pink eye. Here are ways to make your baby's eyes more comfortable when they have pink eye.
Eye drops with physiological saline When children have pink eye, parents can drop their eyes with physiological saline (NaCl 0.9%) about 5-7 times a day. In addition, when the child is sick, parents or family members also need to drop the drops 3 to 5 times a day to prevent pink eye from spreading.
Note: Each member uses a bottle of physiological saline separately, not to share even those who do not have disease.

Strengthen children's resistance All kinds of viral diseases such as pink eye in children, typhus... have no specific treatment. All medications only alleviate the discomfort that the disease causes. The best treatment and prevention method is to strengthen the child's resistance. When the resistance is weak, the body will be tired and sluggish, creating conditions for the virus to thrive.
Mothers should give their children a lot of vegetables and fruits to improve their resistance. For babies who are breastfeeding, when they have pink eye or viral diseases, mothers need to breastfeed as much as possible. In addition, if the baby is breastfeeding, the mother should eat more foods to help increase her resistance. Thereby indirectly increasing the baby's resistance through breast milk. How to clean children's eyes daily Step 1: Wash your hands with soap before cleaning your child's eyes
Step 2: Prepare physiological saline, 2 sterile gauze pads used for 2 eyes
Step 3: Use Physiological saline wet the sterile gauze, gently wipe in the direction from the head to the corner of the eye.
A mother can clean her baby's eyes 3 times a day at morning, noon, and night after waking up. Then, the mother wipes the baby's face with a warm towel. Note, the mother needs to give the baby a separate towel and the towel after use should be washed and dried.

2. What should children with red eyes eat and what should they avoid?

2.1 What should children with red eyes eat?

When the child has pink eye, the mother adds the following foods to the baby:
Vitamin C
Vitamin C supplement for the baby with pink eye. Vitamin C helps strengthen the resistance, soothe the burning sensation when suffering from red eyes. Vitamin C is found in oranges, strawberries, and almonds. However, note that only feeding your baby enough vitamin C for the body every day, should not be overused.
Food supplements with vitamins A, B12, D
Food supplements with vitamins A, B12, D are also very good for babies with red eyes such as broccoli, spinach,... Also foods containing beta-carotene like pumpkin, papaya, ... is also very good for babies. Bera-carotene will be converted into vitamin A when entering the child's body, helping to brighten eyes, strengthen resistance to prevent disease development.
Lean meat, egg yolks, liver are all vitamin supplements for the eyes.
If the baby is not breastfed, give the child plenty of water to drink, and the breastfed baby should breastfeed as much as possible.
Nutrition is an important part of the body. Properly supplementing nutrients is not only good for the development of the body but also helps to increase resistance and fight disease.

2.2 Children with red eyes should not eat anything?

When the child has pink eye, most parents wonder what to feed the child to make the baby recover quickly. According to specialist doctors, in addition to taking care of the baby's eye hygiene, the diet also helps the baby heal quickly and limit discomfort.
Spicy, hot
According to oriental medicine, red eye is caused by heat insulation, so it is necessary to avoid spicy foods such as chili, garlic, onions... These foods will make the eyes hotter, causing discomfort to the baby.
Fishy substance
Fishy foods such as shrimp and fish...will create conditions for the virus to grow stronger, making the disease worse.
Water spinach
Water spinach is a taboo vegetable for people with red eyes. The plastic in water spinach will make the disease more uncomfortable
Animal fat
There is a lot of fat in animal fat that is not good for the baby's health when sick. When children are suffering from pink eye, they should use vegetable oil instead.

3. How to prevent pink eye in children

Red eye disease, although benign, will affect the learning and living process. In addition, if the disease does not heal for a long time, it can cause dangerous complications, affecting vision. Therefore, prevention of pink eye is extremely important.
Patients are still fully contagious 2 3 days before the onset of the disease and 1 week after recovering from the disease. The best way to prevent disease is to practice hygiene and isolate from sick people.
When there is no epidemic Regularly wash your baby's hands, ensure personal hygiene. Use separate personal items such as towels, towels... Wash towels with soap, dry in the sun daily. Do not rub your eyes with your hands. Clean toys for babies When there is an outbreak of pink eye In addition to fully implementing the above measures, it is necessary to do the following additional things:
Wash hands thoroughly with soap or antiseptic solution after going to the toilet and before eating Use physiological saline to wash eyes at least 1 day 3 times Do not share personal items with people with eye pain Limit contact with people with eye pain. Do not go to crowded places such as hospitals, shopping centers. Limit swimming, do not use polluted water. Limit your baby's going out, exposure to sunlight or polluted air. Pink eye in general and pink eye in children in particular is a contagious disease. When sick, it is best for parents to immediately go to the eye hospital for timely examination and treatment, to avoid unfortunate complications.
Currently, Vinmec is one of the few hospitals with a full range of pediatric specialties, able to perform general examinations in conjunction with a nutritionist to help build a baby menu, neurological examination, mental problems, reflexes. In particular, Vinmec has strengths in physical examination with the cooperation of the rehabilitation center for children with autism - cerebral palsy.
If you have a need for medical examination with experienced pediatricians at Vinmec, please book an appointment on the website to be served.

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