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Why is my child blinking his eyes frequently?

Dr Satya Karna
Consultant Ophthalmologist,
Shroff Eye Centre, New Delhi

Q: My 5-year-old son developed an infection in his right eye. He was given some eye drops by a doctor and the infection was treated in 2 days. During the treatment period, he started blinking his eyes frequently. I wash his eyes with cold water but he is still blinking his eyes. I got his eyes checked by an eye specialist, everything was OK. The specialist is confused. He gave - syrup zeva-multivitamin; Andre eye drops; Decol eye drops and Kenalog-s. Another doctor says that we should ignore it. What is the cause of blinking of eyes? Is it necessary to give so many medicines to the child? Two weeks ago, I had an eye and throat infection. Is my infection related to the infection in my child's eyes?

A:One of the causes of frequent blinking of eyes is dry eye or irritation due to the preservative compounds in eye drops. Hence, if the eye infection has subsided, discontinue all eye drops and just wash the eyes with cold water and the blinking should disappear in a few days.It is possible that the eye infection that you have is similar to the one your son had, which means that others should be careful to avoid contact so that they do not get the infection too. Usually multiple eye drops are avoided unless the condition is very severe and not controlled by the trial of one eye drop.