by Golly, it worked!

I am a skeptic by nature.  I always expect the worst even when I'm hoping for the best.  I take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt.  So when I hear about old wive's tales, I'm rarely likely to put my stock in them.  Until last night...

My nearly 4 month old developed a "goopy eye" during the day.  After his nap there was some yucky green goop seeping out of it.  So gross!  I immediately made an appointment for him to be seen the next day.  I felt sort of helpless overnight though, so I wiped his eyes gently with a warm washcloth.  I had a nagging feeling that I should do more, and then I suddenly remembered hearing that dropping breastmilk into an infected eye could clear it up.  Wow, could I really try that?  I guess breastmilk is otherwise benign, or rather helpful in fact.  Couldn't hurt to try, right?

So I did it... he was in the middle of feeding and came unlatched... so I quickly squirt some in his eye.  I put him to bed and turned in for the night (for the first time, that is).  The next morning... no goop!  I couldn't believe it.  Was it coincidence or does it really work? (see?  ever the skeptic!).  I shyly mentioned what I did to the pediatrician and she replied with "Oh yeah!  Lots of people have had success with breastmilk for eye infections!"  Then as I filled the (perhaps unneeded) prescription for eye antibiotic ointment, I also mentioned to the pharmacist what I had done.  Her response?  "Yeah I always use breastmilk for eye infections if I have some!  The only time I use antibiotic ointment is when I don't have any breastmilk!"

So, I think it's fair to say that for us, it did work.  Has this worked for any other mamas?  What about other "old wives tales" that proved to be true?

Comments

[Lara B]

It does work. My 3 week old daughter got the goppy eye from my 3 year old son who just couldnt keep his hands off his new sis. I wanted to do the breastmilk with him but he refused to let me put anything in his eyes...the one time I forced the issue there was significant improvement the next day. My daughter on the other hand doesnt seem to mind that Ive been spraying her in the eye during feeds. Its been 2 days and its pretty much all clear. Breastmilk can be used for lots of things....there is an article in a past 'Mothering' magazine issue you may be able to access from their website www.mothering.com. Its in the nov/dec 2005 issue...some examples....can be used on diaper rash, ear infections, cold sores and stuffy noses.

[sarah]

i'm glad i'm following lara b... because i am actually one of those mothers who used breastmilk for EVERYTHING. little scratches, ouchy eyes... you name it. if we thought there was an antibiotic need, breastmilk was the first remedy. sores healed, eyes remained healthy. breastmilk is a miracle!

[lauralye]

Another--it works! When my son was a year old, he had chronic pink eye. We tried antibiotic drops but it would only temporarily clear it up. Breastmilk cleared it up in a few days and it never came back.

[Sadie Rose]

yep, it worked for me, too. i'm kinda sad i don't have any more miracle milk!

[Debby]

Sadly, or should I say happily, we never experienced any illnesses until after we stopped breast feeding. Never got to try it. Does defrosted frozen milk have the same effect or does it have to be fresh?

[Ellie]

We use it for quite a bit here, too. It has helped with a plugged eye duct, skin rashes, scrapes, sunburns and stuffy noses. It's cool that the pharmacist knew of the benefits, too!

I do believe that frozen expressed breast milk will work just as well.

[amy jo]

definitely works. nothing really "old wives tale" about it, though. breastmilk has lots of antibodies in it and other good immune stuff that is just the right stuff for the baby you live with (your home/household and family have the same bacterias/antibodies, which are different from other households/families). i'm not so sure about the frozen stuff though. my guess would be that the freezing process would have killed all the good stuff, but i could be wrong.

[susy gallegos]

good stuff! another good one is collidal silver it is non toxic, homeopathic and can be used as a topical antibiotic, great for eyes, ears and also flu and cold. every mom should own a bottle of this. find it at whole foods or get it for half the price from my friend jeseph who does professional herbs and vibrational formulas. 503-253-2665

[Sagu]

I've used it for a nasty stuffed nose and had it work miracles too. What I wonder is...when we're done nursing and I no longer have the stuff, can I get it from another mama? Would it work the same or is it mama-baby specific? Is that just too wierd? What do you think?

[lillora]

another quick question, for those of you who have used breastmilk for stuffy noses - how do you do that? squirt in/ around nose??

[Altissima]

A commenter at this link http://www.breastfeeding123.com/breast-milk-cures-pink-eye-conjunctivitis/ , has the answer to Lillora'a question:

"# Sinead Says:
November 30th, 2006 at 6:33 am
Instead of squirting saline nose drops into my baby’s nose which really upsets him I place a few drops of breastmilk along baby’s top lip and then tilt his head back. He barely notices and it really clears his nose quickly!"

[problem girl]

I wish I had known about this while I was still nursing. My daughter got pink eye a few times as a baby and I would have much prefered clearing it up with breastmilk than with the eye drops we had to use. This is awesome though and I'll pass it on to other moms I know!