Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Sick days

I hate sick days.  I never know quite what to do with Tommy when he is dripping goop from every orifice.  I mean, I know what to do as a mother: love him,wipe his nose, comfort him, wipe his nose, cuddle him, wipe his nose... but what do I do about the CONTACT.  Usually, goopy eye means no contact for Tommy (and no patch!).  After all, if I lose the contact as he rubs it out, it is automatically 3 or 4 days before another one comes in.  One day of contact safety surely is better than 3-4 days without.   But is this the right thing to do?  Am I harming his future vision?  No one knows, I know that in my head, but in my heart I worry every second that I miss.  This past weekend his missed 4 days. 4 days!  I'm still worried about this (hence the blog post).  He was sick- oh so sick.  Fever to 103.8, coughing, wheezing, sneezing, dripping, red goopy eyes, sleeping all the time.  I tried, really I did.  He has his requisite day off, then I put the contact in and the patch on the next day.  But- the patch was covered with goop, and his poor eye was so swollen, I started to worry about eye infections!  So out it came- and since his eye was so swollen, it was so hard to get out!  So, he got another day off, and then another.  Oh the guilt.  I know, I know, experts say it takes 2 weeks to truly harm his vision, but I still worry.
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6 comments:

  1. KittynoahFebruary 22, 2012 at 7:11 AM

    I'm so sorry he is sick. My Julia is 4 months and has PHPV and unilateral cataract removed at 8 weeks. She had RSV 2 weeks ago and got an eye infection and didn't wear her contact for a week! It was so nerve wracking. I hope he feels better soon!

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  2. AmandaFebruary 22, 2012 at 1:32 PM

    Awhh you guys too?! I'm sorry. I hear ya on the Eye guilt but truly, go with your gut and don't look back. Moms know best! ;)

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    1. Em Sid Ad and Toms momFebruary 22, 2012 at 2:19 PM

      Thanks, I know, it will all be OK, but even stopping for a day or 2 (or 4!) makes the next week of patching so so so hard on him!

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  3. KittynoahFebruary 22, 2012 at 2:13 PM

    Do you find that his eye gets infected easier? I feel like she gets just a little sniffle and suddenly her eye has green goop. And I can't tell if it is from the contact or being sick.

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    1. Em Sid Ad and Toms momFebruary 22, 2012 at 2:18 PM

      "knock on wood" we haven't had a true eye infection. But, I do worry, so I tend to take the contact out to clean it if I am AT ALL concerned. (Half so I don't lose that little piece of "gold" and half so he doesn't get infected!) I will say that ALL of my kids (4 of them) tend to ooze snot out of their eyes if they get the right kind of cold! GROSS.

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  4. UnknownFebruary 22, 2012 at 6:49 PM

    Oh how I know what you are talking about.... It is something that you have to deal with on a day to day basis. If he is sick and you take a day off or 4, then you are not killing his vision. A month maybe would do some damage temporarily, I would think.

    One of the reasons, I stopped taking it out while he was sick, unless it was an eye infection, was because he would go through so many patches when we started again when he was finally better. You hate the patch and the contact, but the guilt when it doesn't happen can be frustrating. Instead of enjoying him being "normal", I get all nervous. :(

    I am with Amanda, go with your mommy instincts. Do what is best for your kiddo in the day you are in. It will not hurt him in that short time. Hope he gets better soon!

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