Pink Eye: The Pros and Cons

If you're a mom, you have probably dealt with pink eye, or conjunctivitis, the infection of the "conjunctiva", or outermost layer of the eye and the inner layer of the eyelid. It can be caused by bacteria, a virus or allergies. It is characterized by a pink color to the eye, a yellowish discharge from the corners or the eye, swelling, itching, and is EXTREMELY contagious. Here is an example of pink eye in Twin B...

(Although it looks bad, he obviously wasn't suffering from it at the time of the photo.)

...and here's an example of pink eye in Twin A...

(The infection can't be seen so well in this photo, but you may notice his swollen eyes as he pensively ponders his block.)

 Now, you may be wondering what could possibly be the pros of a child having an affliction such as this. There aren't many, and, of course, I would never willing inflict my child with this condition, but let me just share my feelings here.

The Cons:

1. Pink eye is EXTREMELY contagious, as I mentioned above. Twin B started it, and Twin A, the 3-year-old boy, and the 7-year-old girl now all have it.

2. To treat it, one has to administer antibiotic drops or cream to the eyes 3 to 4 times a day. I'm sure you can imagine how much fun this is.....times eight (eyes).

3. For the past 6 mornings, at least one person has woken in the morning unable to open an eye, because of the stuck-on puss. My choices are to scrub the eye area with a warm wet cloth, listening to screams of seeming torture, or let them eat breakfast one-eyed. I won't tell you which option I chose at times.

4. The mom can't go anywhere outside of her home, for fear of becoming the town Pariah and infecting everyone and their mother and their dog.

The Pros:

1. The mom can't go anywhere outside of her home. At other times in my life, I would have developed cabin fever having to stay home with the kids this long, but because I'm 6 days short of 40, about to deliver my 10th child, have an unquenchable urge to nest, and just really love nothing more than staying home right now, this has been a wonderful thing..for me...in this one aspect. If I do have to go somewhere, such as to play the piano at a church meeting, I get to must ask one of the older kids to stay home with the 4 children until I can return.

2. The 7-year-old girl will have to be home schooled for a week, as this is how long the infection seems to linger. While she herself does miss school, I am selfishly loving having her home. She plays with the 3 three and under all day long....

...and I don't think my house has EVER been this clean, thanks to her toddler distracting skills.

3. Four kids having pink eye gives me something to blog about.

So there you have it, my honest, selfish feelings. Lest you believe I may have a case of Munchausen by proxy, don't worry. I am only trying to find the silver lining of the rainbow, or the "blessings in disguise", as my father always encouraged me to do. Really, though, I do hope they get better soon. My mom and sister will be coming into town next weekend and I want us all to be able to go out to dinner! Thanks for listening.