In the first years of their life, children produce much more mucus than adults, both nose, respiratory system and eyes. We saw how to clean the baby's nose, and today we focus on eye care and how to clean them. In the daily care of babies, the eyes are a very important part because of their special sensitivity, and require aseptic and safe hygiene.
Due to the increased production of mucus, it is common that, even in the absence of conjunctivitis or a tear obstruction, some babies wake up with enough legañas, in the same way that we find other dry mucus in the nostrils.
The secretory secretion comes from the mucosa and glands of the eyelids, which, when in contact with the air, dry out around the baby's eyes and can "seal the eyes." Let's see what can we do to clean the baby's eyes in each situation and avoid infections and the accumulation of the legañas.
Regular cleaning of the baby's eyes
- We will establish proper eye hygiene through physiological serum to clean your interior of woody debris. The most practical is to use single-dose serum containers. With the baby lying on his back, we will place the serum vertically so that the eyeball falls and gently tilt the baby's head to the side of each eye (not the nose) so that the remaining serum from the inside of the eye drops out , without danger of wetting the other eye. We can help this action with sterile wipes or gauze.
- Eyelids can also be cleaned delicately by sterile wipes or gauze, moist, eliminating the remains of legañas and bacteria present on the outside of the eyes. The gauze must be moist, soaked in boiled water (once warm) or in physiological serum.
- To avoid the transmission of possible infections, it is important to use a wipe or gauze for each eye (or a different part of the same wipe). The cleaning movement should be from the inside of the eyelids (the inner angle, the tear) towards the outer angle of the eye.
- There are specific wipes for single-use babies, which can be useful for situations such as cleaning away from home or if we travel.
These actions can be done twice a day, once in the morning when you wake up when more litters have accumulated, and once after the bath. In this way we can prevent infections in most cases.
- It is not often that this happens if there is no problem involved as we will see below, but if the eyes stay stuck, you should never try to open them dry but you will proceed to moisten them with the serum so that the legañas soften and the eyelids peel off. We will help with a wipe or gauze if necessary, but with the eye already properly moistened. In the end the baby will open his eyes little by little on his own. Subsequently and very carefully so that they do not enter your eyes, we will remove the remnants.
Cleaning of files due to tear blockage
In other cases, the legañas may accumulate due to the obstruction of the tear in the newborn. And it is that one of the most common conditions in newborns is the obstruction of the tear, which causes tearing and secretions in the eyes of the little ones, the legañas. This phenomenon is also known as stenosis of the tear ducts, and can affect up to 20% of babies in the first months of life.
Due to the obstruction, the tears are prevented from flowing normally, which results in a whitish, yellowish or greenish secretion that becomes filthy. The obstruction of these tear ducts is usually temporary and resolves after a few weeks. What can we do to favor the opening of the tear ducts until normal tear transit is achieved?
- It can facilitate the drainage of tears with a gentle massage in the area between the inner angle of the eye and the base of the nose. Thus the Hasner valve is massaged, a mucosal fold that is not yet perforated (totally or partially) and that prevents the connection of the edge of the inner eyelids (at the inner angle of the eye) with the nose.
- To clean up the accumulated files, you must follow the same steps as indicated above for the usual files.
If we follow these tips, we will soon get the stenosis resolved spontaneously before one year of age and there are no complications. If the condition of the secretions does not improve, it will be necessary to visit the specialist to determine if there are other causes.
Eyes with conjunctivitis
Excessive legañas, accompanied by swollen eyelids and red eyes, may also be due to conjunctivitis, bacterial or allergic And that needs special treatment. That is why we have to go to the pediatrician if we suspect that the baby could have conjunctivitis because it has such symptoms. But, as for the cleaning of the eye, we can act as we have defined in the first section.
Here it is more common for the eyes to remain glued by the accumulation of dry litters. Remember that for proper cleaning, it is enough to soak a sterile gauze with physiological serum and moisten the eyelids to soften the legañas.
To try to prevent conjunctivitis we must try to have maximum hygiene in the hands, perform eye cleanings as we have indicated and avoid rubbing the eyes.
We hope that with all these tips for the care of the newborn has become clearer how to proceed when cleaning the baby's eyes, so delicate.
