How to treat barley in the eye of a child

Any diseases associated with the eye area should be treated especially carefully. The eye is the main organ of human perception. This is a large system that consists of numerous components and mechanisms. Today we’ll talk about barley - how and why it appears, what symptoms accompany it, how to treat it and whether re-infection can be prevented. The question is especially acute if the child is the patient.

What is barley?

Along the edge of the upper and lower eyelids grow hair - eyelashes. They protect the eye from external negative effects - wind, sun, water. Normally, the root of the cilia is in the sebaceous gland. The duct of this sebaceous gland is located on the extreme part of the eyelid, right where the cilia grows from the skin. The skin secretion lubricates the cilia so that they are moisturized and can repel fluid and protect the eye from water entering it.

If pathogenic microbes get inside the sebaceous gland, they begin to actively multiply and increase in number there. This clogs the duct and prevents greasy fat from being discharged. As a result, inflammation of the eyelash hair sac begins - this is barley. The disease is most often caused by contact of Staphylococcus aureus on the mucous membranes of the eye and eyelids. How to recognize barley and distinguish it from other inflammations of the eye?

Barley Symptoms

Visual changes in the eyelid can occur from several hours to several days from the time of infection. How is barley manifested?

1. A noticeable lump appears on the affected eyelid, quite shaped like a bead or pea. Before the inflammation completely covers the face, it will be possible to notice the inflammation of a particular hair sac.
2. Often, the appearance of barley begins with itching and discomfort in the eyelid.
3. The sclera of the patient’s eyes turns red, it is painful for the child to blink, and severe lacrimation appears.
4. When touching the barley, the child can cry, this indicates the pain of the abscess.
5. In the late stages of the disease, the eyelid swells very much, the eye is hard to open, swelling and redness appear. If barley jumped up on the lower eyelid, swelling can pass to the cheeks and nose.
6. In some cases, barley can occur with signs of intoxication - high fever, headache, poor health.
7. A few days after the onset of inflammation, dried yellow mucus may appear on the tip of the tubercle. This is a mixture of fat secretion, bacteria and pus. This means that barley will break through soon. After a breakthrough, the contents of the hair cell come out, the inflammation gradually subsides.
8. In some cases, the inflammatory process is accompanied by an increase in lymph nodes. This means that the immune system works in an emergency mode.

In some cases, barley can be not only classical (external), but also internal, when an abscess forms directly inside the eyelid. In this case, treatment at home is unacceptable, since the disease can lead to serious complications. If you find that the child has internal barley, you need to show the baby as soon as possible to an ophthalmologist or an ophthalmologist.

Causes of Barley

Barley is a common thing; children often get sick with it. But where does this infection come from?

1. As noted above, barley is an inflammation caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The bacterium can get inside the eyelid in a household way - if the child was wiped with a towel after the patient, if common handkerchiefs, napkins were used. A baby can become infected simply by rubbing its eyes with dirty hands.
2. However, not always the bacteria, getting inside, begins to develop and multiply. If a person’s immunity is strong, it can resist pathogens. With weak and suppressed immunity, barley jumps up on the eye quite often.
3. If the child often has barley, the doctor will first of all ask about the work of the intestines, ask for tests for worms. In some cases, a relapse of the disease may indicate diabetes mellitus, since with this disease the walls of the blood vessels are disturbed.
4. If the body is able to restrain the development and reproduction of microbes, then after hypothermia, barley pops up instantly.
5. Very often, barley appears in the teenage period, when hormonal changes lead to the active work of the sebaceous glands. If there is a lot of sebum, the ducts can become clogged, a large amount of secretion accumulates inside. Together with bacteria, inflammation begins.
6. The frequent occurrence of barley can be a hereditary factor. That is, a gene predisposed to a given disease is present in human DNA.
7. Quite often, barley occurs in people who wear contact lenses, not observing basic hygiene rules. Microbes can get into the eye if you remove and put on the lenses with dirty hands, if you do not change the liquid in containers in time, do not clean the lenses, or wear them longer than they should be.

These are the main provoking factors that are the trigger for the development of the disease.

How to treat barley in a child

In fact, barley is not a dangerous disease. So that the disease does not lead to complications, its course must simply be carefully monitored. Here are some ways that will help relieve inflammation from the eye, relieve concomitant symptoms and accelerate the breakthrough of the abscess.

1. If the inflammation has already begun, and the abscess has not yet formed, you can carefully burn the eyelid with iodine, brilliant green or alcohol. To do this, pull the eyelid and lubricate it with the selected medicine using a cotton swab. In no case do not drip alcohol into the eye - only eyelid treatment. Be extremely careful not to burn your eyes.
2. It is very useful to warm your eye under the sun or an ultraviolet lamp. This will relieve inflammation and reduce swelling.
3. You can make a warming compress on the eye. Wrap the boiled egg with a cloth and attach to the inflamed area. You can warm your eyes with a cloth bag with warm salt, heated sand, etc. If you warm your eyes in the morning and evening, the abscess will break through in a couple of days.
4. Various antibacterial eye drops can be used. Modern drugs are very effective, affordable and absolutely safe for children. Drop in the eye Albucid, Levomycetin, Tsiprolet, Tobreks, Sofradeks. Eye drops must be used according to the rules. Place the baby in front of you, gently pull the lower eyelid and drip the medicine into the conjunctival sac. Part of the drug during blinking will pour out, but the desired dose will still fall into the area of ​​inflammation.
5. In the fight against barley, you can use various antibacterial ointments. Among the most affordable and effective, Levomekol, Tetracycline, Erythromycin, Hydrocartisone ointment can be distinguished. They are also laid in the lower eyelid. Squeeze a small amount of medicine on a clean finger, pull the lower eyelid, put the drug there and ask the baby to blink. For some time, the child may experience discomfort and blurred vision, this is due to the thin film of medicine that has covered the lining of the eye. After 5-10 minutes the unpleasant sensation will pass.
6. With an increase in temperature, signs of intoxication and an increase in lymph nodes, you should definitely consult a doctor so that he prescribes an antibiotic to suppress inflammation from the inside.

If self-treatment of barley does not help, and inflammation only increases, be sure to consult a doctor.You may need a surgical opening of the abscess. In this case, the doctor mechanically cleans and disinfects the purulent cavity of the hair sac, which leads to a decrease in inflammation and swelling.

Folk remedies in the fight against barley

If the inflammation has just begun, it is not at all necessary to stuff the child with medicines, it is quite possible to defeat barley with the help of folk recipes. However, not all of them really help.

With barley, for example, it is advised to spit a sick person in the eye unexpectedly. Of course, literally spraying with saliva is not worth it, but you can unexpectedly say “pooh”. In ancient times, it was believed that barley appears as a result of the evil eye, which was eliminated by spitting through the left shoulder. However, this method, as well as the active display of cookies, has no scientific justification. By the way, such a popular recipe as applying brewed tea bags should also not be used. Only dry heat is needed to treat barley. And wet sachets that cool quickly can cause hypothermia and increase the inflammatory process.

1. Prepare a strong decoction based on chamomile and calendula. Dampen a piece of sterile bandage in a warm broth and apply as a lotion to the sore eye. As soon as the bandage begins to cool, it must be changed to fresh and warm. Never apply a used bandage to the eye to prevent re-infection. Calendula has a bactericidal property, and chamomile will help relieve swelling, inflammation and redness.
2. You can make a lotion of warm water with the addition of aloe juice in a ratio of 1: 5.
3. Tear off 10 leaves of plantain, slightly mash them with a rolling pin. Wet the sheet in hot water and apply to the inflamed area. As soon as the sheet begins to cool, change it to fresh and hot.
4. Burdock root will help relieve inflammation, disinfect the surface and stretch pus to the surface. Fresh root should be crushed to a state of gruel, placed in a gauze bag and applied to the sore eye. After a few lotions you will feel much better.

These simple recipes will help you rid your child of barley as soon as possible.

In order to prevent the appearance of barley in the eye of a child in the future, you need to teach him to follow the rules of hygiene. Each member of the family should have his own towel. You can’t rub your eyes with dirty hands, you need to wash your hands thoroughly after coming from the street and shaking hands. The nails should be trimmed in time so that bacteria and dirt do not accumulate under them. If the child wears contact lenses, you need to carefully monitor their hygiene, put on and take off with clean hands, change fluid in time, prevent putting on the right lens on the left eye and vice versa. Every day in the morning, you need to thoroughly rinse the eyes from the mucus accumulated during the night. Be sure to strengthen the immune system with proper nutrition, hardening, physical activity. And then the body will be able to withstand bacteria and you will not be afraid of barley!

Video: what to do if a child has barley