Pink Eye - Kalamazoo,MI

Hi M.,
We had the same thing here. My daughter had pink eye, then hubby got it and yes, we just used the same drops and it cleared him up too.

Absolutely give him her drops. We recently went through the same thing. I didn't even take the second child in for an office visit. I just used the same drops and voila... no more pink eye and no office visit co-pay.
Best of luck!
J.

If you put the Bausch & Lomb contact solution directly in the eye a few times per day, it clears it right up. It has worked wonderfully for both of my kids.

When my 3 year old had pink eye our ped told us to keep the drops and use them if anyone else in our family got it because it's so catchy. So, I would go ahead. I would wash everything you can too including sheets and pillows. Good luck!

YES!! Pink eye moved through my house like wildfire and my doctor said as long as the dropper bottle did not touch the eye, I would be safe to use it on anyone else who was possibly getting it before I got their own prescription. It made the pink eye in future patients (haha) more bearable....

honestly, i have done it. my kids are only 11 months apart and very close, so what one kids gets the other eventually does, too. my daughter had pink eye last fall, and when she was clearing up my son started with it. it's pretty tell-tale signs and since it's extremely contagious, it's a good bet that he had it. i saved myself a trip to the docs office, a copay and a prescription copay and just gave him the drops and they were both fine. they usually clear up all the way in a few days and i figured if he didn't in a few days then i would take him in, but i didn't have to.
if i remember right i told my doc about it afterwards and she wasn't concerned at all. she actually made a comment about how common it is.

I wouldn't just cause I wouldn't be sure the dosage would be the same. She may have a higher concentration than what your son would need or it may be the same but it's not worth the risk. Call back and let the calling service know that nobody has called back yet. My dr's service always says to call back if you haven't heard anything with in an hour.

One of my sons had pink eye last year, a day or two before we left for vacation for week. His ped prescribed eye drops and told me use it on my other son (who didn't have pink eye at the time) if needed. Turns out, we all needed the Rx as pink eye is incredibly contagious & spread to both boys, my husband and me! (we did end up seeing our own docs, and getting our own Rxs eventually, but to start it was my son's original Rx)

As long as the eye dropper hasn't touched your daughter's eyes, I don't really see how it could be a problem....since they are most likely going to give your son the same Rx.

My sympathies to you, ugh, Pink eye is no fun!

Yes, I would start giving him the drops right away. If you have enough left and the symptoms are obvious, the sooner you start the faster it will go away.

Hi M., I do not think that you should give the same drops that were prescribed for your daughter. I was always told not to share anyones eye drops who has had pink eye. Pink eye is contagiuos. If you have some chamomile tea, I would boil water and put the tea bag in it, and let it seep, then take the bag out and let it cool down- but still put it on warm- on the eye. Also, my daughter got pink eye about 1-2 months ago, and I gently dabbed lavender oil on the bridge of her nose, and around the outside of her eye.

Just make sure that the tip of the drops container is sterilized and I would definitely start giving the drops to your son. When my daughter had pink eye a year and a half ago, it travelled from her to my husband to me. We all used the drops and they continued to work. You may want to even continue giving them to your daughter to avoid her being re-infected (since Pink Eye can be passed back and forth). Then when you get a new script for your son, you can continue giving them to your daughter for a couple days more.

I would personally start giving it to him, but that is me. I have triplets and let me tell you there is more than one time that I have done this with them because once one gets something it will go to the other two within the next few days. Good Luck.

Hi M.,

Sorry you have to deal with this. I know it's NOT FUN... But if you think the dropper may have come in contact with your daughters eye AT ALL. Then no way... but if not and you know for sure it didn't...then I personally would use the same drops... Try to keep his eyes clean and EVERYONE wash their hands as much as possible... Sing a song while washing...
GOOD LUCK!

Yes defenitly if it looks the same as your daughters. We had to do that a couple times. Then just let your dr. know that you did already start them and how many so they can put the correct amount on his script. I have three children and whenever one gets something like that my dr, most of the time will write extra refills on one kid knowing that it is highly contagious. I hope all goes well.

Yes start your son with your daughters drops. It is not a problem @ all.

M.,

My son was just diagnosed with the same thing. Your children are the same age difference as mine and I wouldn't hesitate to use the ointment (we didn't get drops) on my daughter.

Good luck and hang in there!

C.

I would use the drops- it's only for a short time and he'll get his own soon. You may want to get some for yourself, too!

Well you already know what you are going ot do. You have told everyone. Use your gut and do what you think thats what a mother is to do. So give him the drops as you did with your daughter and take him in tomorrow so you can get more. Have a good memorial day!

I would use the drops on him too. Make sure you have washed everything they touch (I know, what a pain) otherwise it will keep coming back. Pink eye is extremely contagious and easy to get and pass around. Lots of hand washing! Oh I remember the days, good luck!

Put in the drops right away!

Yes as long as the tip of the eye drop container did not touch your daughter's eye, it would be fine. Since they are so close in age, they would prescribe the same drops for both.

It is a shame that no one called you back after two hours. I would mention that to your pediatrician. However, there may have been an emergency with the nurse on call too.

Yes, it is ok, to give your son the pink eye medication. Same thing happened between my 3 kids and they all had enough to have all the doses, but all started at different tims. Don't forget to wash your hands when giving and in between, you can get it too.

NO!!! You should not use the same drops that you used for your daughter. I know it sounds far-fetched, but the infection may have "mutated" and you will pass that on if you use her drops. Just make sure you all wash your hands often and keep hands off face, eye & mouth areas. Your son will be okay for one more day.

Now you know what pink eye looks like, so go ahead and give it to him. If you're sure it's pink eye and dont want to pay the doc for another appointment, cancel your son's appt and have the office call your pharmacy for the prescriptions for more drops.
And for future reference, whenever one of my boys get sick with something that's contagious (strep throat, pink eye, etc.) I always tell the doc to eiter give me an extra prescription, a refill for the scrip he gives me, or the option to call in for a scrip for the other child without a costly doc visit (them calling in a scrip works for meds that need adjusting due to weight difference in the kids). In most cases, one of these options is acceptable and I save a costly co-pay.
So start the drops on the little guy right away, he'll be fine and you're daughter won't be at risk for catching it again...from him. Have a great holiday weekend!

Well if it were me, I would. It's probably more than likely that he does have the pink eye now because that stuff is horribly contagous. But what i would do first is sanitize the tip of the dropper first really well. Besides the drops might give him some relief. I know it's always best to wait for the doctor, but sometimes mom knows best too.

I would take him to urgent care...and get a prescription of his own.

We've had much better luck treating pink eye with Similisan Pink Eye remedy. It's an over the counter homeopathic remedy. Literally withing 24-48hours the pink eye is gone and does not come back.