Yesterday, late morning, Kathryn was diagnosed with bacterial conjunctivitis. So.Not.Fun. She woke up with a bit of redness in her right eye. She had a bit of colorless sleep in that eye also, but Kathryn is like her mama and produces mass quantities of sleep. When I asked her if her eye itched or hurt, she said no. Thinking she might have irritated her eye rubbing it overnight (another common trait between mother and daughter), I put in a small amount of prescription pediatric eye drops (figuring if she had irritated it, the eye drops would help soothe it) and sent her on to MMO.
At 10 am, I got a call from MMO and after discussing the current condition of Kathryn's eye, decided to pick up both kids early. When I arrived at MMO, her eye had gotten significantly worse! Now it was flaming red and leaking green goop. I profusely apologized to her teacher, loaded the kids up in the SUV and placed a call to the pediatrician's before I even left the parking lot. They had an immediate opening to I drove straight over.
Sure enough, pink eye. (Sending your child to MMO with pink eye--definitely Mother of the Year material.)
When I asked the pediatrician why she didn't wake up with the typical matted-shut symptom, she told me that doesn't always happen. And she did reassure me that the symptoms of conjunctivitis can come on quickly. In other words, I wasn't a complete and utter idiot sending my child to MMO. Still it didn't make me feel any better. Fortunately, the drops I used before MMO can be used to treat her (and Isaac, if necessary) so we didn't need to wait on a prescription to be filled. By yesterday evening, her right eye had almost returned to normal.
Then, this morning, after breakfast, her other eye began displaying symptoms, so treatment has begun on that eye as well. I carefully evaluated Isaac's eyes post-breakfast and decided he was displaying some irritation (redness only). So I've added him to the treatment plan. Which means putting eye drops in both eyes for both kids three times a day. (Which equates to Jonathan and I, both contact wearers, becoming sanitizer/hand washing Nazis for the next week.)
In sharing our morning with Meems, she did point out one comforting thought. I would have NEVER sent Kathryn to MMO if someone from our social circle (church, dance, gymnastics, MMO, play dates, etc.) had recently been diagnosed with pink eye. I would have kept her home for observation. And she's right. (Mothers always know what to say to comfort their children!)
Fortunately, by tomorrow morning, we will no longer by considered contagious.
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