When RJ had sore eyes (conjunctivitis), I pitied her so much. It was her first time and it was quite distressing for me. Her eyes were not swollen and there were no yellow sticky discharge but she was so irritated by the scratchy and burning sensation. Both eyes were red all over and I was afraid they might bleed. That’s how red they were. She can barely open them and looked like she needed bushnell rifle scopes to see things clearly even from a short distance. Poor RJ!
When I brought RJ to her pediatrician, the first thing she asked me was, “did you go swimming?” Then I said, “Yes. How did you know?” As per RJ’s pediatrician, there are different causes of conjunctivitis but most kids that were brought to her clinic with conjunctivitis just had swimming this summer from public pools and that’s how they got the virus or bacteria.
I feel like it’s somehow my fault. RJ has goggles to protect her eyes but she didn’t wear it. As her Mom who knows what is best for her, I should insist. It was a lesson learned though. I won’t ever let RJ take the dive without her goggles. It is a swimmer’s essential piece to protect the eyes most especially the kids, not only from viruses and bacteria but from other irritants as well such as salt, chlorine and other chemicals.