Causes and treatments of yellow eye discharge in newborns

When it comes to eye boogers, many people are familiar with it. In fact, it is formed by an oily substance secreted by a gland called the meibomian gland in our eyes mixed with dust that enters the eyes. Generally, after people fall asleep, their eyes are closed for a long time, and the corners of the eyes become a common place where these substances often accumulate. Everyone has a small amount of eye boogers, and it is especially common in newborns. But occasionally we see that the eye boogers in newborns are yellow. What is going on? Now let’s get into today’s topic, the causes of yellow eye discharge in newborns and what are some good treatments.

Many people may think that yellow eye mucus is caused by the child getting angry. In fact, it may also be caused by "neonatal conjunctivitis", which is an eye disease that newborns are easily infected with. The reason is:

1. Newborns have low immunity and are too weak to resist germs, so they may be infected by bacteria that do not cause disease in adults and older children.

2. The tear glands are not fully developed yet, so there are fewer tears, which makes it difficult to wash away invading germs, allowing them to multiply in the eyes and cause conjunctivitis.

3. When the baby is born, the baby's head has to pass through the mother's cervix and vagina. The eyes can easily become infected due to contamination by germs in these parts. The bacteria mainly include Staphylococcus aureus, influenza bacillus, gonococcus, pneumococcus and Escherichia coli and another microorganism called Chlamydia.

Therefore, we can do the following care:

1. Every time you clean your baby's eye secretions, remember to wash your hands with running water first.

2. Soak the sterilized cotton swab in warm water (so that there is no dripping water) and gently wipe the eye secretions.

3. If there are a lot of secretions on the eyelashes, you can use a sterilized cotton ball soaked in warm water to wet it for a while, then change the wet cotton ball and gently wipe from the inside of the eye to the outside of the eye. Use one cotton ball at a time, and do not use the used one again until it is clean.

4. Use antibiotic eye drops. The mother holds the eye dropper and drops the medicine into the outer corner of the baby's eye. Do not drop the medicine on the black pupil or let the mouth of the medicine bottle touch the eyelashes. Keep the mouth of the bottle 2 cm away from the eye. 2 to 3 drops each time are enough. After applying the drops, release your fingers and gently lift the eyelid with your thumb and index finger to prevent the medicine from flowing into the nasal cavity. If both eyes need drops, the drug should be applied to the side with the lighter lesion first, followed by the side with the heavier lesion. It is best to leave 3 to 5 minutes in between.

Through the above introduction, we can know that the reason why the newborn's eye mucus turns yellow may not be due to getting angry, but may also be caused by bacterial infection. Therefore, mothers should stay away from pollutants as much as possible when taking care of their babies. When wiping the baby's face or eyes, be sure to use a clean handkerchief, preferably a disinfected one, and keep the baby's clothes and your own hands clean.