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Erythromycin
Evidence on Eye Ointment

The Bottom Line:

Newborns receive erythromycin eye ointment after birth to prevent pink eye in the first month of life, also called ophthalmia neonatorum (ON). The most common cause of ON is chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection. A less common but more serious cause of ON and the reason for mandatory eye ointment is gonorrhea, another sexually transmitted infection, that now accounts for less than 1% of reported ON cases in the U.S. A newborn can only get ON from chlamydia or gonorrhea if the mother is infected at the time of the birth. Other bacteria account for 30%-50% of ON infections, which are not considered serious.

~ quote from Evidence on: Eye Onitment by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN, APRN

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