Hi, just wondering about my sons eye discharge that has been going on now for about 3 weeks. He is 4 and had a cold about 3 weeks ago and his eyes stated gooping up and tearing. I'm pretty sure that it's not pink eye because it is not pink or itchy. It also has looked like it was going away on certain days and then would be back again. I was just wondering if this could be related to an ear infection? He never pulls at his ears or anything like that so I just don't know.

He's had a discharge from his eye for 3 weeks? It's time for him to see a Physician.

I think any other advice would be irresponsible.

I can't believe this has been going on for three weeks and you haven't taken him to a doctor.

Obviously there's something going on. You're risking his eyesight.

It's long past time to see a doctor.

Wow, I was looking for help not to be put down or judged. If you can read, I said that it was coming and going. What you also don't know is that when he gets colds that his eyes often run and goop along with them since he was young. All I was wondering if it could be related to his ears. But as of today, his eyes aren't running. Thanks, and if you want to comment next time, I only want helpful caring responses and not ones where you call people irresponsible. I bet you both are just PERFECT!!

Mamie, you posted on a public forum. Anyone that's a member of this forum can post on your thread. You cannot dictate who posts and who doesn't.

I'm not perfect, but I can tell you that I would never wait three weeks to take my child to a doctor, even if the symptoms were coming and going.

Could it be related to his ears? It could. It could also be an infection, it could be something stuck in his eye, it could be allergies. There's no way for anyone on the internet to tell you exactly what's going on. Not even a doctor could give you a diagnosis over the internet.

You may not have found our responses to be caring, but they were accurate, and like it or not, that's the only help we can offer.

Yes, I know this is a public forum, and I was looking for someone with maybe a nursing background or someone who's kids who could have had this problem while having ear ache issues. Of coarse the logic is to go to the dr. but people do not always run to the dr. if they(we) have been through this situation before when he was younger and the dr. said to use a warm wash cloth and massage the tear duct area. That was a duh situation that we had to in turn pay for. Maybe, next time(like it says in the rules to this site) you won't start your answer back with a negative first sentence when you don't know me and have no right to talk to me like that. I'm a good mom and I was just trying to get some insight to my poor little guys issues.He is not on his death bed or losing his eye sight. It is just a minnie issue that I just felt like finding out some info. About. So if there is anyone out there who has had any experience with your little ones having issues like this and what you or your dr. did, then please feel free to comment. Thanks!

If it is a clogged tear duct it can actually be quite dangerous if treatment isn't started. I get clogged tear ducts very frequently. It can lead to infection, and that infection can cause blindness.

The fact is, even a nurse, even a mom (I am the mother of two) can't tell you exactly what's going on. We can guess, but we can't give you a diagnosis. That's why we recommended that you go to your doctor.

If it is a clogged tear duct that's gone on for 3 weeks then there are a few things that can be done, but not likely that you'll be able to fix this at home. Any clog that last that long needs medical attention. The doctor will likely prescribe antibiotic eye drops at first. If that doesn't work then he may try unclogging the duct by either inserting what amounts to a thin metal rod into the duct. Surgery is the last option.

If you're waiting for someone to give you an actual diagnosis, I'm afraid you'll be waiting forever. No one can. There's no way anyone can tell you 100% what's going on over the internet, not even a doctor.

I have to agree with everyone, including you mamie; 3 weeks is WAY too long but I see how some of the answers might have been taken as offensive - it's very hard to read feelings and emotions through the Internet.

That being said, your son's issue could be any number of things. It could be related to a sinus infection, it COULD be pink eye, etc.

I get where you're coming from - I'm certainly not one of those moms who run to the ER every time their child coughs. But please, take him to a doctor and find out what's going on before it gets worse. We're just worried about the little guy :)

As of today and tonight, the gooping and tearing (mainly always in his right eye) has stopped. So if it comes back, then the dr. will get a call. He had pink eye once when he was 2 and it looked totatlly dif. Then this. Plus when it was pink eye, it kind of spread to all of us. Plus like I said, he kind of always gets this when he gets colds, so I guess I should worry about it a little, but not to the extent that he needs surgery. I just thought that I would see if there was any other parents out there that have ever had kids with eye duct clogging issues and get some helpful opinions about it. As far as going to the dr. for every little thing, we just don't do that cause most of the times illness is caused by a virus and there is nothing that they can do. Right now during the cold and flu season, it seems like when one of the four of us in this household gets better, then another one starts in with the next thing(cold or flu) We're ready for spring and to get out in the fresh air. Thanks for the comments.

Are you a trained medical professional? How do you KNOW his eyesight isn't being endangered?

Another person who wants a diagnosis over the Internet.

Hmm are you a trained medical person? I'm pretty much done with this conversation. I will never post on this site again. I only wanted helpful and caring comments and not rude ones. I won't be commenting anymore so everyone have fun being judged by Judge Judy!!

Wow! Why is everyone so rude?

I know I am a good parent! My 3 year old son is having the same problem, and it has spread to my 2 year old son. There eyes are puffy, red, goopy, and they are feverish, and fussy mostly at night. They also have a cough.

Now... I remember this. When my daughter, who is 7 now, was 3 years old, I took her to the Dr. I didn't have much money, and I practically had to beg for money to take her to the Dr; because I was a young mother, was in college, didn't have a job, and the Dad wasn't around.
But! I still took her to see a great Dr. He gave me the best advice. He said, "pink eye will have a clear watery discharge! This is not clear, this has mucus, this is a bacterial infection of the eye. No warm compressions will help cure it, no regular eye drops will take it away, only drops specifically for a bacterial (not viral) infection will help." as for the ears, her ears were infected as well, and she did have a bad cough.
My Dr. was so kind, that he knew that I wasn't going to be able to pay for the medicine, that he gave me samples... and he said to come back if I needed more. 3 days later, my daughter's eyes cleared up and she never got sick like that again.
Because I have previous knowledge to what my Sons might have, I took them both to the Dr. knowing that they had a bacterial infection of the eye, knowing that over the counter medicine will not cure it, knowing that that their cough could probably lead to a runny nose, and possible ear infection (the ear, nose, and throat are all connected in a way). Turns out, I was right on everything. Both my sons have double ear infection, throat infection, and bacterial eye infection. I am not a Dr. I am not a Medical Personnel, I am a Mother of soon to be 4 children.

I know this is like a 2 year old battle, however I have to write a thread for mother seeking advice on their children having problems with their eyes, ears, nose, and throat. Even though, I have gone through this 3 times with my children, I still like to search for opinions, remedies, hear mothers that are going through the same thing, something... anything, so I can feel that I am not the only one out there with this problem.

To those rude mothers, shame on you for bullying mamie1980. You don't know her situation. You don't know if she is a young mother, or if she doesn't have the money to go to the Dr. All she wanted was advice in a nice way. She didn't even have to ask for it to be in a nice way. Think about how you would want your letter answered. Would you want some rude commentator to answer it, or someone who was going to help your situation. Even if this is public... you don't have to answer this letter... no one forced you to answer this letter. You choose to answer this thread. You should only answer threads if you can actually contribute to someone's well being or are actually attempt to help someone in a positive way.

Mamie1980 was only looking for someone who has been in her situation and was seeking advice. True! Taking your child to the Dr. is the best advice... but that's all she needed. I took all three of my kids to the Dr. for the same situation and I am still seeking advice. Not because I am unhappy with the results... but I want to know if anyone else is having the same problem. I want advice. I want support. I want help. That is all mamie1980 was asking.

I don't think you realize that the problem Mamie posted in January of 2011, has literally 1000's of possibilities. It doesn't matter if someone had a similar situation, you can't base a diagnosis off that.

You also don't seem to understand that if any of us had said "Oh ya, it's a clogged tear duct" and then a month later her child lost his eyesight because she took what we posted as a diagnosis, didn't see a doctor, and now she's suing because we told her it was a clogged tear duct when there's absolutely no way for us to make that diagnosis online, that we'd be doing her child a great disservice.

We don't diagnose on this site, no matter how badly people want us to. We can't, we won't, and frankly, you should be thankful for that, because any diagnosis made online is a guess, and only a guess, and a guess can be deadly!

Also, try answering 100's of questions a day, for free, asking you to diagnose, do that for 6 years, and then judge how we answer.

Bottom line, the people that come here for answers, get their answers. We don't always sugar coat things, and in this case I think we were right on the money. This child had an infection for 3 weeks, no doctor! The only answer was "take him to a doctor!" If you're upset that we didn't molly coddle her, or give her a fake diagnosis to make her feel better, too bad. I don't get paid to do this, and you're not paying to get the advice, so suck it up! You'll still get the best advice I have to offer, no matter how many times I have to read about people neglecting their health and that of their children or pets. No matter how frustrating it is. If it's not cheerful enough for you, pay someone to sugar coat it to the sweetness you require.

Good luck. :)

I'm working on the "doesn't have the money to take her child to the Doctor" thinking. Aside from this being an old thread why would ANYONE, including a young mother, get medical advice from the Internet? Why would ANYONE put her child's eyesight in danger?

And for that matter why would ANYONE open an account, answer one question and then disappear?

What lives under a bridge?

@Alty and Friends

Do you come here to answer questions JUST so you can be rude and petty? This isn't Steel Magnolias... you don't need to be pathetically cruel to people.

Welcome to the site.

I come here to offer advice for free. Now, there are many people that don't want the advice they're asking for, they want someone to tell them what they want to hear, not the truth, especially in the medical forums. I don't sugar coat things, I don't have the time or patience to sugar coat things.

Bottom line, no one, not even a doctor, can diagnose online, not for humans, not for animals, not for anyone. We would be doing people a great disservice by guessing, which is all we can do. I for one won't put people's lives at risk like that. If that's rude and petty, so be it.