How to take care of your baby’s eyes?
Dr. Valleteau de Moulliac,
Consulting pediatrician for Laboratoires Sarbec
Small yellow crusts are often present in the morning around the eyes, formed by tear mucus, dust, and dead cells. Your baby gets rid of them during the day through the movement of the eyelids.
But at night, the eyes "rest" and these normal secretions harden and form these crusts. Sometimes they are so abundant that the eyes are stuck together upon waking.
This phenomenon is sometimes worsened by a malfunction of the nasolacrimal duct: the passage between the eyes and the nose at the inner corner of the eye, which can be temporarily blocked or even impermeable, disrupting the drainage of tears and these secretions.
It is therefore necessary to regularly clean your baby’s eyes, wiping from the inner (nasal) corner to the outer corner, in order to move impurities from the eye outward using a cotton pad soaked in saline solution or, for newborns, with a sterile gauze pad.
Sometimes these secretions become infected and may require, after frequent washing, an antibiotic eye drop prescribed by your doctor. If these infections recur or persist after 4 months, it may be necessary to unblock the tear duct: your doctor will advise you.
As always, perform care gently, with tenderness and love.
