How do you tell if your child has pink eye?

Susie2005

My son has had a cold for the last week.  His nose is still pretty runny.  This morning he woke  up with just a little "goop" in the corner of one of his eyes.  They are not red, they are not crusty.  Is it just related to the cold or could it be the beginning of pink eye?

 And if it could be the beginning of pink eye, does it warrent a call to the on call pedi on a Sunday?

 Thanks.

sugarp

This happened to my kids (2 and 1) about a month ago, but no worries, the crustiness is most likely due to the cold. You would notice ALOT of goop and crustiness around the eye (in most cases, there's so much goop it can seal the eye shut), and your son would be itching like crazy.

Kristin78

Normally if the eye is crusted over in the morning, and if the eye is really itchy and red.  A warm compress on the eye makes the eye feel better.

Alot of the times, it can just be a cold or some kind of viral infection.  I don't think you really need to call the doctor.

Hope your child feels better 

InvBK

DD and I both get this same exact thing with our allergies - cold like symptoms, and "goop" in the eyes.  Both of our eyes do get pink though in the mornings and at night.  Her doc and my doc both say it's allergic conjunctivitis.  I took her to the pedi because daycare was concerned for obvious reasons.

 I probably wouldn't call the pedi about on a Sunday.  But if it's still there tomorrow, I'd call on Monday.  I hope it doesn't bother your little guy too much!