It can be frightening to see your infant experiencing problems with his or her eyes after you've brought him or her home from the hospital. Because your infant can't tell you what's wrong, it makes the situation that much more difficult. So, you need to be on top of your game and know what may be causing your infant's irritated eyes.

1. Injury to the Eye

Newborns have tiny little fingers that they use to rub their eyes when they're tired and playing. As a result, this could result in red, swollen eyes from them possibly scratching their eyes with their tiny, sharp nails. This is one of the reasons why you should consider having your newborn wear hand mittens to keep him or her from scratching his or her face and eyes. Your optometrist can use a special tool to easily see your baby's eye surface to determine if he or she did indeed scratch it. If a scratch occurred, an optometrist, such as Baldwin Optical & Hearing Aid Co., can prescribe drops or an ointment that can help speed up the healing process.

2. Allergies

Your baby is being exposed to a whole new world and it isn't uncommon for him or her to be allergic to something in the air or in the home. If there is something, then your infant is going to experience red, itchy and swollen eyes. It could be something as simple as the cat in the house or the body wash or shampoo being used at bath time. It could be the type of formula that your infant is being fed. If your baby is being breastfed, it could be something that transferred to the breast milk from your body that they are allergic to. You can speak to your child's pediatrician to rule out most issues, but an optometrist may be needed if the irritation doesn't go away and the pediatrician feels your infant needs a more specialized examination.

3. Blockage of the Tear Ducts

For infants, tear duct blockage is pretty common with roughly six of every 100 newborns being affected. Blocked tear ducts can occur for a number of reasons, such as abnormal growth patterns, infections or underdevelopment of tissue. The most common reason is the tissue at the end of the tear duct not opening as it should. Symptoms include redness, swelling, heavy tearing, as well as white or yellow build-up in the corner of your baby's eye. In some cases, your infant's eyes may be difficult to open because the eyelids are sticking together from the build-up. If you suspect this is the problem, your baby needs to see an eye professional immediately.