Is there a lot of yellow and sticky eye mucus?

Generally, the metabolism of newborn babies is very vigorous, so there will be more eye mucus. However, if the eye mucus is too much and sticky, it is generally not a normal phenomenon. It is likely to be an eye disease. At this time, parents should pay attention to it and take the baby to the hospital for examination and treatment in time to avoid missing the best treatment time. So what is the matter with a lot of yellow and sticky eye mucus?

1. Irritation of eyelashes.

When infants are 2 to 3 months old, they may have some white eye mucus on their eyes when they wake up in the morning. This is because eyelashes tend to grow inward during this period, and the friction and irritation of the eyeballs produces eye mucus. Generally, around 1 year old, eyelashes will grow outwards naturally and the eye mucus will gradually decrease.

2. The baby's nasolacrimal duct is underdeveloped.

The nasolacrimal duct of babies is relatively short, and the valve at the opening is underdeveloped, which prevents tears from being discharged smoothly and causes accumulation of eye mucus. You can massage your baby's nose bridge with your hands every day to help keep the nasolacrimal duct open.

3. There is heat accumulation or fever in the body.

Accumulated heat in the body is what we usually call getting angry. It is often accompanied by symptoms such as intolerance to heat, easy sweating, dry stool, and thick tongue coating. When encountering this situation, you should feed your baby more water and eat some heat-clearing foods. When infants and young children have a fever, they will secrete more eye mucus than usual.

If a young child suddenly has a lot of yellow eye mucus, and his eyes become congested and red, this may be because bacteria have invaded the lacrimal sac, multiplied, and festered inside it. The pus fills the entire lacrimal sac and cannot be excreted, so it accumulates in the corners of the eyes. This may lead to keratitis, in which the cornea may turn from black to white and form white spots. If not treated in time, it will affect the child's vision development. If this happens, do not use eye drops without authorization and go to the hospital for treatment immediately.

What to do if your newborn has a lot of eye mucus

1. Conjunctival inflammation

After the baby is born, many parents are afraid that the child will catch a cold, so the room temperature at home is often high, and bacteria are easy to multiply. In addition, the newborn will unconsciously rub his eyes with his hands, which can easily lead to symptoms of conjunctivitis such as increased eye secretions, conjunctival congestion of the eyelids, and more eye mucus.

Treatment: Topical antibiotic eye drops and ointments can improve symptoms, and conjunctival irrigation can help subside inflammation. Before applying eye drops, the child's eyes should be cleared of secretions. Give your baby plenty of water, and pay attention to the effects of the milk powder on your baby's digestive function. Cleaning your baby's hands and trimming both adults and babies' nails regularly can reduce the chance of bacterial infection of the eyes.

2. Neonatal dacryocystitis

Neonatal dacryocystitis is caused by blockage of the tear duct and nasolacrimal duct that excrete tears. Because the embryonic residual membrane at the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct has not degenerated, it blocks the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct, and tears and bacteria accumulate in the lacrimal sac under the skin at the inner corner of the eye, causing secondary infection. About 2% to 4% of full-term newborns have this residual membrane, most of which will shrink on their own within 4 to 6 weeks.

How to deal with it: Massage the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct from the root of the nose to the tip of the nose to increase the pressure in the duct and promote the rupture of the residual membrane. When bacterial infection occurs, anti-infection treatment is given. When massage and conservative treatment are ineffective, probing can be performed after anti-infection treatment.

3. Gonococcal pyophthalmia

Gonococcal pyophthalmia is caused by gonococcal infection, with an incubation period of 2 to 4 days. It is often caused by mothers suffering from gonorrhea, and the newborn is infected when passing through the birth canal. Both eyes are affected at the same time, manifesting as acute purulent conjunctivitis. Usually the child's eyelids are extremely red and swollen, almost unable to open, and a large amount of pus-like eye mucus is produced continuously.

Countermeasures: Usually when a newborn is born, the hospital will use 1% silver nitrate solution to drop into the eyes to reduce the infection rate of the newborn, but the chance of newborns infected with this disease increases if they are delivered in informal hospitals. Penicillin is effective for this disease. To avoid cross infection, you should go to a regular hospital for systematic treatment to avoid delaying the disease.

4. Corneal ulcer

Corneal ulcers can also cause babies to have a lot of eye mucus, and their consequences may be the most serious. Corneal ulcers are mostly caused by accidental collision or when the baby unconsciously rubs his eyes with his hands, foreign objects, fingers or nails damage the corresponding part of the cornea, thereby becoming infected by bacteria. Babies who live in an unclean environment and have poor resistance are susceptible to this disease.

How to deal with it: Improper or untimely treatment of corneal ulcers can affect vision and even cause corneal perforation due to poor control of the lesion. Once a corneal ulcer is diagnosed, adequate antibiotics should be used immediately to control the infection and prevent the ulcer from expanding. During treatment, the medication must be applied locally to the eye and systemically at the same time.

This situation is relatively rare. Some babies have incompletely developed facial bones, especially those with wide and flat noses. The skin of the upper eyelid often extends down to the inner corner of the eye, covering part of the eye tissue and even part of the sclera. This causes the eyelid and eyelashes to move inward, causing friction and irritation to the eyeball, causing discomfort, and resulting in symptoms such as excessive tears and secretions.

How to deal with it: Generally, when the baby is about 1 year old, as the facial bones develop, the eyelashes will naturally grow outwards and the secretions will gradually decrease. No treatment is required, and the secretions can be wiped clean with a warm towel. If entropion and inverted eyelashes still rub against the eyeball after bone development is complete, surgical correction may be considered.