Care of a Child with Orbital Cellulitis

Information for parents and carers

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Care of a Child with Orbital Cellulitis – PIAG 86 (242kB)

Introduction

Your child has been diagnosed with Orbital Cellulitis and this fact sheet aims to provide you with information on how you can become involved in the care of your child at home.

What is orbital cellulitis?

This is an infection in the soft tissue surrounding the eye, resulting in redness and swelling around the eye and eyelids, an inability to open the eye and pain and discomfort.

The causes are:

• infection – for example; conjunctivitis or sinusitis, after a cold or sore throat
• trauma – for example, following an injury to the eye

Your child will require a course of antibiotics that are given via an intravenous cannula. Your child may also need to have a course of antibiotics given orally (by mouth).

Please read the fact sheets on High Temperature and Home Peripheral Intravenous Therapy. Follow all the advice and contact the nurse at any time with any concerns you may have.

Details of how to contact the Community Nurse are in the Community Team fact sheet.

Important checks

Whilst your child is under the care of the Community Team it is important that you:

• monitor your child’s eye for any increase in redness, swelling, discharge or discomfort
• keep a regular check on his/her temperature with your own thermometer
• make sure your child has plenty to drink; this may be warm or cold drinks, to stop him/her becoming dehydrated. Offer your child their normal diet but it is usual for them to have a loss of appetite. If your child is reluctant to eat it is important that you encourage your child to have plenty of drinks
• ensure your child does not play with their IV cannula. Keep it well covered and protected. The nurse will check the IV cannula during each visit. If you do have any problems or concerns please refer to the Parent and carer guidelines on Peripheral Home Intravenous Therapy and contact the Integrated Children’s Community Nurse if necessary.

Your child may have some pain or discomfort in or around their eye or complain of headache or sinus pain. Your child can be given a dose of Paracetamol or Ibuprofen for pain relief as directed on the bottle or the packet.

Signs to look out for when checking your child’s condition:

• if your child’s temperature is above 38c you should give Paracetamol or Ibuprofen as advised by the nurse or as per instructions on the bottle/packet
• if your child’s temperature does not come down to below 38c, 45 minutes after Paracetamol or Ibuprofen has been given
• if your child has an increase in redness, swelling or pain around the eye
• if your child is complaining of severe headaches, dizziness or visual disturbances
• your child becomes irritable
• your child becomes very pale or mottled with cold hands and feet
• your child starts to vomit
• your child is refusing all drinks and has not passed urine for a period of 4 hours or more during the day

If your child has any of the above symptoms you must contact the Community Team immediately.

Help us to care for your child by recording:

• the temperature of your child and the time it was taken
• the time any medication is given (Paracetamol / Ibuprofen and how much
• how much your child has eaten or drunk
• if your child has vomited and how much

Next steps

If your child has been prescribed a course of antibiotics to take by mouth it is important they complete the course.

Your child will remain a Community patient until 24 hrs after their IV antibiotic course has been completed. By this time your child’s eye should be almost back to normal with either no or only a very slight redness or swelling.

There are usually no complications after the infection has been treated and it is unlikely that your child would develop Orbital Cellulitis again in the near future.

Unless your child has been requested to see the Ear Nose and Throat or Ophthalmology Team as an outpatient no other hospital follow up is necessary.

This leaflet only gives general information. You must always discuss the individual treatment of your child with the appropriate member of staff. Do not rely on this leaflet alone for information about your child’s treatment.

This information can be made available in other languages and formats if requested.

PIAG: 86