Is it normal for babies to have a lot of eye discharge?

A baby is just born into this world. It is really a magical thing for him to come into the world from his mother's belly. Sometimes we see a lot of secretions in the baby's eyes. So what are these secretions? Is it normal for babies to have a lot of eye secretions? This is indeed worth our understanding, so let’s take a look together.

Newborn babies often have eye secretions, commonly known as "eye boogers". Some parents are very nervous about this, while others do not take it seriously. The correct attitude is to understand what diseases may occur due to this symptom, what consequences will occur, and to go to the hospital for treatment in time.

Parents should always pay attention to the appearance of their children's eyes, such as whether there is redness and swelling of the skin, eyelid nodules, whether there is often a large amount of white mucus or purulent secretions in the inner corner of the eye, whether the secretions appear more when the child wakes up from sleep or increases after crying, whether it is accompanied by epiphora, whether the child's eyes are often "tearful", and whether the cornea is clear and transparent. Does the child often rub his eyes with his hands? Is he afraid of light and dare not open his eyes?

Abnormal squeezing and rubbing of eyes indicates that the child has eye discomfort, which may be due to different types of inflammation, such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, blepharitis, hordeolum, etc. At this time, the white part of the eye, that is, the surface of the sclera, is often congested and red, with secretions; it may also be due to insufficient development of the child's nose, relatively plump facial muscles, and tense skin, which causes the eyelids at the inner corner of the eye to turn inward, and the skin compresses the eyelashes to form inverted eyelashes. Severe inverted eyelashes can scratch the corneal epithelium and cause discomfort to the child. If secondary infection occurs, it will also lead to keratitis.

Conjunctivitis and neonatal dacryocystitis are common diseases in newborns. Neonatal dacryocystitis is caused by the failure of the lower end of the tear duct to form an opening normally during development, which prevents tears from flowing into the nasal cavity through the tear duct for elimination. Its characteristic is that in addition to the physical symptoms of chronic conjunctivitis, there is a large amount of secretions in the inner canthus. In mild cases, the eyes may only be tearful. However, when we gently press the inner canthus with our fingers, or when the child cries, a large amount of mucus or purulent secretions will flow out. Long-term tear duct obstruction will lead to secondary infection, local tissue will become red, swollen, painful, and even skin ulceration to form a sinus. There is a small hole in the skin at the root of the nose, and liquid or pus will continue to flow out. This skin sinus may not heal for a long time, affecting the appearance;

When the cornea is abraded, serious complications such as keratitis, corneal ulcer, and endophthalmitis may occur, leading to blindness. In the early stages, some babies can be cured through massage by their parents under the guidance of a doctor. Those who cannot be cured must go to the hospital for probing or surgery to avoid subsequent serious complications.

It turns out that it is abnormal for babies to have excessive eye secretions. This is a manifestation of an eye disease. So when we find that babies have excessive eye secretions, we must take our babies to the hospital for examination in time, and then follow the doctor's arrangements for proper treatment. In this way, this situation will not occur again. Timely detection and timely treatment will be effective.