Vai and Stye : THE bump in the eye
Goodness.
Vai woke up last Saturday morning with a bacterial infection! On his right eyelid! The bump was big and red!
The bacteria involved apparently are called ‘Staphylococcus aureus’, the same one that caused IMPETIGO – a type of skin infection that he got on his face last August!
And, I just learned from the doctor that this condition is called a ‘STYE’.
Click HERE to read more about it on Dr Greene.com!
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Here’s a bit more on what a Stye is :
– A bacterial infection / inflammation of part of the eyelid (that happens more amongst kids than adults)
– Symptoms : swollen eyelid, redness at edge of eyelid, the affected area is painful and tender
– A child who had it before, is prone to having it again (Vai had his very first case of ‘stye’ sometime around May this year. I didn’t know it was called a ‘style’ at the time, though!)
Thank God Vai is still his happy and active self. No change in appetite. No fever. No rubbing of his eyes (so I guess it’s not that itchy?).
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To treat it, the doctor (as well as the many websites I checked) recommended :
– Bathing the eye (with warm water and cotton wool)
This is a bit tough though because Vai doesn’t really let me touch the painful bump, let alone WASH it. So it’s been quite a struggle.
– Warm compresses, a few times a day
I filled up his water bottle with warm water and ask him to put it on his eyelid area (he doesn’t let me hold the bottle, so after explaining to him why he needs to put it on his eyelid, he chooses to do it why holding onto the bottle himself)
Bathing the eye with warm water and warm compresses apparently can help the stye to come to a ‘head’, and the pus to discharge (right now, there’s no ‘head’ on Vai’s bump). Never squeeze the bump / pus though!
– No eye-rubbing and let the child wash his hands regularly
– For Vai’s case, the doctor gave him : oral antibiotics (Augmentin, in liquid form) and eyedrops (Fucithalmic)
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You know, come to think of it, this bacteria somehow are rather fond of Vai, aren’t they?
He had his first encounter with a stye sometime in May, which only totally went away in two months or something! (the bump was reduced to a ‘head’ on the upper eyelid, and it took a long time for it to completely disappear! I was even told that a minor surgery MAY be needed to remove it! Else, he may need to live with the that little dried-up bump on the upper eyelid for HIS WHOLE LIFE)
Then Vai had impetigo in August!
And now, this.
*sigh*
We’re treating the condition, and I hope it’ll go away real soon.
15 Comments »
Leave a comment!
Priyadevi:
Helloo … thanks for sharing and leaving a comment on my blog
(so sorry I only manage to reply your comment today … )
As for the stye, the bump was completely gone within 10 days or so after it first appeared. Early treatment sure helped a lot.
Since then, he’s been okay (ie. no stye cases) … and as for applying the eye ointment, I applied it when he’s sleeping 🙂
I put a little blob of the ointment on my right index finger, slowly lift the eyelid with my left index finger, and quickly ‘insert’ the ointment into the eye just under the swollen area …
Hope your daughter is all well by now …
Cheers!
Gigi:
Hi there! Thanks for leaving a comment …
(gee… this is a super late reply to your comment .. so soo sorry about it …)
Basically it’s completely gone after doing what I’ve shared in the post. The eye ointment and oral antibiotics helped a lot!
dear leonny..
my daughter also have an eye infection like ur son….i m very scared about this swelling…….has it completely gone??is there any bump again??my daughter s 2 year old.it s very dificult to manage her…she doesnt allow anyone to touch…thanks for ur tips
Hi…
Hope all is well with you and your family. I was just curious to know how it went with the whole stye problem? I just got my first one and was wondering what methods worked for your son.
~Gigi
Hi Manuel,
Yes he is all good now. Thanks.
The bump was gone in about 10 days since it first started to appear. He took antibiotics as it was a bacterial infection on the eye and I think tackling the infection really early helped too.
is this any better now? what did he do now?
Siska:
Optrex is basically a solution to bathe your eyes with
http://www.optrex.co.uk/
I remember how my mom told to always ‘bathe’ both our eyes after swimming ‘to get rid off the germs etc’. In indonesia we used to call the solution ‘boorwater’ (remember?)
Anyway, after that comment from Liz, I bought one for our home! 🙂
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Stella:
Thanks for sharing!
And to see ‘blood’ on his eye … must’ve been quite a scare! Especially if it’s our first time handling such an eye condition!
Btw this is Vai’s second time, and it’s on ‘the other’ eye. Really makes me wonder HOW he got it in the first place coz he didn’t go swimming or anything like that the day before (unlike his very first case).
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4malmal:
oh no … it went from one person to another in your family? That’s bad!
I read too how because it’s bacterial infection, if not treated and say, Vai scratched himself and the bacteria went in to the skin again, he’d get impetigo again!
Anyway, the antibiotics stopped the spread …
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Sandra:
Ya I remember how my sisters and I got something like that too when we’re small. In those days they put on a cream, and didn’t take us to the doctor too 🙂
I’m guessing it’d take quite a while for the little lump on Vai’s eyelid to completely go away … Anyway he’s so much better now. Thanks Sandra!
Oh i had that quite a bit as a child too – it’s not itchy i can tell u – just a hassle – can’t see properly. It will go away & he will grow out of it. Just keep doing what u are doing – my mum didn’t even take me to the doc – but those were different days 😉 i hope he gets well soon.
oh no, looks pretty bad. hope he gets well soon. There was a time when I was young, my family got hit by something like this. It kind of went from one person to another. I hope this is not what we had. We couldn’t figure out the cause. Things like this do happen.
That happens with my 14 mth baby boy too. And it’s always on the same eye. Quite scary to see blood on his eye the last time he had it as it had burst at night while sleeping.
emm… what is optrex? i like your tips about how to drop eyedrops. cos i wouldn’t dare to open my eyes. hmm, next time i need eyedrop, i’ll use your method of closing eyes 1st then open
Siska:
Vai just woke up last Saturday with a red and swollen eyelid! He didn’t go swimming or anything the night before (unlike the very first time he got stye in May. He got his very first case of stye one day AFTER he went for a swim at a friend’s condo’s pool)
I have NO idea how he got it and why he kept getting it. All I know (from doing some reading) is that once you get it, you can get it again and again.
Anya never has that problem at all, though she’s exposed to the exact same situation as Vai (she went swimming with him too, played on the ground with him too, etc).
Took him to the doctor on Monday (ie. day 3), and after taking the antibiotics 2x/ day, and putting on the eyedrops (more like a cream that we need to smear ‘into’ his eyes), the eye is SO much better now (as on Wednesday, day 5).
I guess the key to it is … see a doctor about it early and treat it early ?
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Liz Beh:
hahaha … yes yes … that’s what we (Indonesians) usually say too …ie. that’s what you get from peeping … or seeing something you shouldn’t have! 🙂
And, hey Thanks for sharing the tips! And optrex, what a good idea! Never crossed my mind before.
As for the eyedrop … since what’s given to us is more like a ‘runny cream’, I just need to open the eye a little bit (because he’d be shutting his eyes by then) and smear it into the eye.
In the first 3 days, he used to struggle a lot and cried so much (the doctor said it ‘stings’ a little bit), but by now, he’s getting used to it. At least I get less resistance and no crying after applying the eyedrop on him.
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Nic:
As I shared with you earlier today … I guess every kid has different immunities ya … Coz really, Anya has NO problem whatsoever, even though she’s exposed to exactly the same kind of activities as Vai…
I think for Vai’s case, somehow he’s more prone to this type of bacteria … so as preventive actions: I need to remember to keep his nails trimmed all the time, wash hands regularly, and give him an eye bath (with cotton wool and water) daily.
Guess it’s different in this generation – bacteria, germs, viruses everywhere! when I was younger, I didn’t even wash my hands before mealtimes and I only showered once a day but I was fine! Now I constantly wipe/wash Will’s hands whenever he had touched the ground outside – who knows what he could have picked up! It pays to be hygenic – I am one who carry a pack of wet wipes wherever I go.
Oh dear.. which reminded me.. I’ve ever seen a girl in church who constantly had a bump in her eye.. I hope Vais bump go away..
Actually I’ve had this pretty often when i was young…my mum usually say I must have peeped at someone bath.. or seen something dirty.. (I honestly believed it then). But she used to buy Optrex in big bottles.. soak cotton wools with Optrex and put it on both our eyes when we were asleep. We would wake up with eyes sealed tight by the eye discharge. After 3-4 nights.. the thing went away. Even now.. I would do it when my eyes felt uncomfortable.. it is really good..
The other thing I read some time ago.. about giving young children eye drops.. was to let them close their eyes.. drip the eye drop at the inner corner of their eyes.. ask them to open their eyes and some of the drops will go into the eye. Good for kids who doesnt like eye drops..
oh dear, it looks really bad. penyebabnya itu apa sih? maksud gw, sblm hari itu, emang vai main dimana? main apa? iya, sering amat yah vai kena bakteri ini. dulu anya ga prnh kena? moga2 cepet baek deh. berapa lama kata dokter bakal baek?