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Eye, Pus or Drainage

TEMPORARY CARE AT HOME - Pending Talking with Your Doctor

Reassurance: Bacterial eye infections are a common complication of a cold. They respond to home treatment with antibiotic eyedrops and are not harmful to vision.

Until you get antibiotic eyedrops, do the following:

Remove Pus: Remove the dried and liquid pus from the eyelids with warm water and wet cotton ball. Do this whenever pus is seen on the eyelids. Once you have antibiotic eyedrops, they will not work unless the pus is removed each time before they are put in.
Contact Lenses: Children with contact lenses need to switch to glasses temporarily. (Reason: to prevent damage to the cornea.) Disinfect the contacts before wearing them again (or discard the contacts if disposable).
Contagiousness: Your child can return to day care or school after using antibiotic eyedrops for 24 hours, if the pus is minimal.The antibiotic eyedrops can be used for other family members who develop the same symptoms.
Expected Course: With treatment, the yellow discharge should clear up in 3 days. The red eyes (which are part of the underlying cold) may persist for up to a week.
IF your child becomes worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.