Efficacy of Breast Milk in Treating Eye Infections - An Overview

Introduction

The effectiveness of breast milk in treating young children's eye infections may be a safe and efficient treatment for bacterial eye infections and blocked tear ducts. A frequent concern in pediatric primary care visits is eye discharge. The most frequent causes are viral and bacterial infections, with bacterial infections being responsible for 54 % of instances of conjunctivitis (injection of the eye) in children. Therefore, pediatric patients with an eye discharge as their primary complaint receive the microscopic inspection and discharge culture.

What Are the Causes of Eye Infections in Children?

If bacterial conjunctivitis is identified, the children are subsequently treated with antibiotic eye drops. In pediatric practice, the following can affect children with a significant complaint of ocular discharge diseases other than bacterial infections, such as:

• Viral infections.

• Nasolacrimal duct stenosis (blockage of the nasal duct)

• Allergic conjunctivitis (infection of the eye due to an allergy).

But 80 % to 95 % of the time, doctors administered antibiotic eye drops.

What Is the Microbiota in Human Milk?

The majority of the makeup of the following bacteria is the core of microbiota in human milk:

• Staphylococcus.

• Streptococcus.

• Serratia.

• Pseudomonas.

• Corynebacterium.

• Propionibacterium.

• Lactobacillus.

• Enterococcus.

• Bifidobacterium.

What Are the Factors That Can Affect the Microbiota of Breast Milk?

The mammary gland has microbiota throughout the latter trimester of pregnancy. The factors that can affect the microbiota of breast milk are as follows:

• The length of pregnancy.

• The manner of birth.

• The mother's weight.

• The length of nursing.

• The mother's health and the latitude where the area is inhabited.

What Are the Properties of Breast Milk in Treating Eye Infections?

Breast milk demonstrates biological activity against various microorganisms, including fungi, viruses, amoebae, and gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Breast milk eye drops helped treat congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNDO) and had antibacterial effects in infant conjunctivitis and against the substances that cause conjunctivitis in children. Chlamydia and gonococci are frequently the cause of newborns' eye discharges. However, bacterial conjunctivitis brought on by these pathogens has been sporadic due to the routine postnatal administration of antibiotic eye drops to newborns in obstetrics and gynecology clinics. Haemophilus influenzae is the most common cause of bacterial conjunctivitis in babies. Therefore, Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most common strain.

What Are the Advantages of Breast Milk in Treating Eye Infections?

Antibiotic eye drops can raise medical costs and encourage the growth of bacteria resistant to antibiotics when administered to infants with non-bacterial conjunctivitis. Therefore, only bacterial infections were treated with antibiotic eye drops. Contrarily, breast milk (BM) contains a variety of protective substances, including:

• Immune cell subsets (primarily macrophages).

• Immunoglobulins.

• Lactoferrin.

• Lysozyme.

• Oligosaccharides.

• Acute phase proteins.

• Mediators of cellular communication.

• Lactoperoxidase.

• Prebiotics.

What Are the Components of Breast Milk to Help to Treat Eye Infections?

Regarding nutrition and biologically active components, breast milk is best suited to meet the demands of a newborn infant. These influence a baby's immune condition by protecting them and promoting immune system development, antigen tolerance, and the induction of an optimal inflammatory response to pathogen encounters. In addition to preventing gastrointestinal and respiratory infections, breastfeeding also lowers the chance of developing atopic dermatitis (constant inflammation and irritation of the skin) and autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes (lack of insulin leading to an increase in blood sugar), celiac disease (gastrointestinal disorder), asthma (lung disorder), rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune inflammatory disorder), and multiple sclerosis (a disorder of the spinal cord and brain).

Is Breast Milk as Safe as Eye Drops for Treating Eye Infections in Children?

Transitional flora is essential in its own right. Like any other bodily fluid, milk can harbor pathogens such as

• Listeria monocytogenes.

• Coxiella burnetii.

• Staphylococcus aureus.

• Streptococcus B.

As well as viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1), cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis-B, hepatitis-C, herpes simplex virus (HSV), and varicella zoster virus (VZV), protozoa such as Toxoplasma, and fungi such as candida and toxoplasma. Therefore, it is essential to carefully assess the safety of applying human milk to mucosal membranes, especially in newborns and young children.

What Are the Complications of Delayed Treatment of an Eye Infection in Children?

Delay in ophthalmologic consultations and the beginning of appropriate therapy for conjunctivitis and eye injuries can result in serious complications, including:

• Spreading an infection to surrounding tissues.

• Endophthalmitis (inflammation of the eye muscles).

• Panophthalmitis (infection of the retina and choroid).

• Vision loss.

What Is the Rationale for Using Breast Milk to Treat Eye Infections?

The microflora of a newborn is highly dynamic. It changes quickly over the first few years of life, working to establish a stable framework of discrete microbial communities with particular characteristics and functions in particular parts of the body. The maturation of the immune system in the postpartum period, which impacts future health, is caused by early interactions between the developing microbiome, pathogenic bacteria, and their human host. Although the effects of breastfeeding on the growth of the intestinal microbiota and the bacterial flora in the upper respiratory tract are well established, it is unclear if applying human milk topically to mucous membranes, such as the ocular or nasal, has any positive health effects.

Conclusion

Human milk was previously thought to be sterile. Still, new research has shown that it can serve as a constant source of commensal, mutualist, and possibly probiotic bacteria that colonize an infant's intestines. This is significant when discussing milk treatment. The possibility of using breast milk for therapeutic purposes is made possible by the presence of numerous bioactive components. The research found that nasolacrimal duct obstruction by infusing milk into babies' eyes shortened the time it took for their chronic lacrimation to resolve. The study findings are encouraging, but they should be carefully analyzed.