What to do if your NB has Sticky Eyes

A few hours after our baby was brought to us from the nursery, we noticed that his right eye seems to secrete more mucous that his left. We thought nothing of it, just the normal "muta" any baby would have especially after crying. After a couple of days, it seemed to worsen. He could barely open his right eye, the lashes clamped together by the sticky mucous. He has the Case of the Sticky Eyes.

The baby doesn't seem bothered by it, but I am of course. I consulted a book for common illnesses in babies and children. That's how I knew that it's the sticky eyes and that it was a normal condition for babies, especially newborns.

What to do?

1. Clean the area with sterile water and cotton balls. Wipe it away gently. Some advice to use sterile salt water, like the ones used for cleaning contact lenses, others say cooled boild water is enough. I used the cooled boiled water.

The secretions are very sticky indeed, so you might need to wipe the eye area two or three times. I usually do this during bathtimes. In between it, I try to wipe away the mucus as soon as I see it.

2. Keep his blanket/ wipe cloth exclusively his. Just for hygiene purposes.

3. If the other eye becomes infected too, or the infected eye worsens over time, see your doctor.

My baby's sticky eyes resolved by itself by his third week, without any need for medication, just constant cleaning.