Why Does My Baby Have Excessive Eye Discharge? What Should I Do?

Excessive eye discharge in babies is often caused by conjunctivitis, corneal ulcer, heatiness, and other reasons. Here are the possible causes and cleaning methods:

1. Conjunctivitis: If your baby not only has excessive eye discharge but also has inflamed and swollen eyelid skin, accompanied by increased tears and eye congestion, they may have conjunctivitis. Mothers should immediately use topical antibiotic eye drops and erythromycin ointment to relieve inflammation as soon as possible.

2. Corneal Ulcer: Consider if your baby's eye has recently suffered any trauma. If there is a wound in your baby's eye, it is susceptible to bacterial infection. If your baby constantly points to their eye and cries, you should immediately take them to the hospital for antibiotic medication. It is crucial to control the infection to prevent the ulcer from worsening.

3. Heatiness: When a baby is experiencing heatiness, they may suddenly have excessive eye discharge, accompanied by symptoms such as heat intolerance, easy sweating, and dry stool. High-calorie complementary foods and formula milk may be the causes of heatiness in babies. In this case, mothers should encourage their babies to eat more fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, and improve their dietary habits promptly.

1. Simple Method: Wipe with a Damp Cloth: When your baby has a small amount of eye discharge, it is advisable to have a new small towel at home. Dampen it and gently wipe away the eye discharge from your baby. This is a very easy and straightforward method.

2. Hygienic Method: Wipe with a Disinfected Cotton Ball: If your baby has a lot of hard eye discharge that cannot be wiped away easily, use a disinfected cotton ball dipped in warm water to remove the excess moisture. First, apply a wet cotton ball to the eye discharge on the lower lashes and then gently wipe from the inner to the outer corner of the eye.