Barley in a child's eye is a common problem that parents of absolutely all children face at least once in their lives. Sometimes barley appears with enviable consistency. Most parents do not consider it necessary to see a doctor and try to treat barley on their own using folk recipes and "grandmother's" methods. Is this correct, says the famous pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky.
About the disease
Gordeolum, and this is what is called in medicine what the people call "barley" - this is an acute inflammation of a purulent nature. It affects the hair follicle or sebaceous gland of Zeiss, located in close proximity to the bulb of the eyelash.
If the inflammation occurred on the outer part of the eyelid, then they speak of hordeolum, if on the inner side of the eyelid, doctors diagnose internal barley. With it, the so-called meibomian gland becomes inflamed.
And in fact, and in another case, the child's eyelid swells, redness and severe pain appears. On days 2-3, the barley acquires a yellow "head" filled with pus, later it breaks out, the purulent contents come out, the pain disappears, and the swelling gradually subsides.
Sometimes these classic symptoms are supplemented by reddening of the mucous membrane of the eye, increased body temperature, enlarged lymph nodes (more often behind the ear, occipital, submandibular).
With internal barley (meibomite), the inflammatory process is not so acute, the pain is not so strong. The abscess, when the time comes, does not open outward, but inside the conjunctival sac.
Most often, according to the observations of ophthalmologists, barley appears in the upper eyelid. If a boil occurs on the lower eyelid, it usually hurts more.
In young children, the course of infection is always more pronounced than in adolescents. In a one-year-old child, when barley occurs, an increase in temperature is quite often noted, sometimes even the appearance of symptoms of general intoxication.
In children 2-3 years old, barley flows easier. With a furuncle in the eye of a teenager, it is often possible to do without treatment, since the abscess matures rather quickly and opens itself.
Causes
According to Evgeny Komarovsky, in the overwhelming majority of cases (the probability is more than 99.9%) such inflammation is caused by a microbe called Staphylococcus aureus. It is a very resistant microbe to antibiotics and aggressive external influences, which always causes inflammation of a purulent nature.
The microbe spreads through the friction of the affected area, it is for this reason that some children have several barley after another on one eye.
It is impossible to avoid contact with this bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus lives almost everywhere. However, in one child, it causes stye when it enters the eye area, while in another it does not. Here, according to Dr. Komarovsky, an additional factor plays a role - the state of the child's immunity. If the immune defenses are weakened by a recent illness, the likelihood of developing hordeolum increases.
Another "auxiliary" reason for the appearance of barley Komarovsky considers disruption of the sweat glands. Therefore, the doctor advises to pay special attention to whether you overheat the child, whether he is sweating.
Treatment
If barley appears in a child often, and they are not isolated, but several of them at once, then we are talking about furunculosis. In such a situation, it is usually impossible to cure a baby only with local remedies, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. In this situation, oral antibiotics will be required, which have a fairly effective effect on staphylococci. There are many such drugs, the doctor, taking into account the severity of the infection and the age of his young patient, will be able to choose and prescribe the medicine he needs.
When treating a staphylococcal infection on the skin, it is rarely possible to get rid of the problem with antibiotics in 3-5 days. Evgeny Komarovsky claims that it will take at least 14 days to adequately treat the problem.
If barley is a "guest" infrequently, and comes mostly alone, without comrades, Komarovsky does not advise to abuse local antibiotics. This is important for the baby's local immunity to develop independently.
In some cases, with severe pain syndrome and a large boil size, a fairly standard treatment can be prescribed: instillation in the eye of 20-30% sodium sulfacil, hydrocortisone emulsion (1%) and some other drugs.
At the initial stage of development of barley, you can try to stop the reproduction of Staphylococcus aureus with the most common brilliant green... To do this, use a 1% solution of brilliant green, which can be bought at any pharmacy. A microbe that can withstand boiling and direct sunlight, and also staunchly resists most of the strongest antibiotics and antiseptics, for some inexplicable reason cannot stand the most common brilliant green. Sometimes the development of barley after such treatment completely stops.
If the barley has turned into a large abscess (abscess), which is not so often, the help of a surgeon may be required, who, under conditions of the strictest sterility, will open the abscess and cleanse it of pus.
It also makes sense to contact the surgeon if the abscess has not opened itself 7-8 days after the onset of the disease. There is no need to be afraid of such treatment, a surgical opening does not leave traces in the form of scars and scars.
When the temperature rises against the background of hordeolum, the child can be given antipyretic drugs. TOOmarovsky advises using either Paracetamol or Ibuprofen for this.
What not to do
In no case should you squeeze out pus. It is forbidden to open barley. The fact is that a staphylococcal infection can spread into orbit, and this is fraught with dangerous conditions - phlegmon of the orbit, meningitis and other unpleasant consequences that can lead to decreased vision, and even death.
- Do not use lotions, wet tampons and compresses soaked in anything. Previously, such methods were recommended for barley, but now it has become quite obvious to medicine - the bacterium multiplies more actively, moving with moisture into the neighboring sweat glands and sebaceous sacs.
- You can not steam the child, take him to the bath, sauna, wash in hot water. The reasons are indicated in the previous paragraph.
- You can't heat barley... Neither a boiled egg, nor a handkerchief ironed with an iron, according to Komarovsky, should not warm the place of purulent inflammation. When heated, Staphylococcus aureus feels great, it multiplies actively and willingly, this leads to increased pus formation.
The abscess is growing - this is the first minus. The second - in the likelihood of a breakthrough of pus and entering the circulatory system, which is fraught with very dangerous diagnoses, up to sepsis.
Tips
You can stop the spread of barley by observing the rules of hygiene: you cannot rub a sore eye, touch it with your hands. It's best not to touch it at all. The child needs a separate towel, since Staphylococcus aureus loves to pass from person to person through common household items, the doctor advises.
A child prone to the appearance of boils does not need to be wrapped up, overheating and profuse sweating should not be allowed. Also, a mother should be more careful about the choice of baby powder for washing children's clothes and bed linen for such a child - they must be hypoallergenic. It is important that such a baby learns to gently clean his eyes every day - from the outer corner to the inner one with a dry and clean gauze swab.
If parents, at the suggestion of grandmothers, really want to treat a child for barley with folk remedies, it is worth dwelling on the most innocuous of them.
Of the entire arsenal of traditional medicine, Komarovsky includes prayer and the popular masses of spitting in the eye of a child. If you really believe in the result - you can spit, but without fanaticism. You can show a cookie in the direction of a sick eye without restrictions - as much as you like.
If the child wears contact lenses, it is better to temporarily abandon them during treatment, so as not to "pull away" the infection between the sick and the healthy eye.
Dr. Komarovsky will tell you more in a short video below.
