1. Check the Timing of Symptoms
The symptoms of Gray Syndrome don't always occur immediately after exposure to the offending antibiotic. In fact, the typical presentation occurs between 2 and 9 days after treatment. Keep an eye out for the grayish-blue skin tone which gives the reaction its name, as well as general lethargy, difficulty breathing and vomiting. Your newborn may also pass loose, light-green stools, which shouldn't be mistaken for the sticky, tarrish green stools passed in the first few days of a newborn's life. If you spot any of these signs and know your baby has been given chloramphenicol, it's likely you're looking at the symptoms of Gray Syndrome.
2. Keep Track of Your Preemie's Medications
Gray Syndrome frequently occurs in premature infants, both because of their immature body systems and because of their susceptibility to opportunistic infections. If your preemie is being treated for any of the common complications of prematurity, including conjunctivitis or bacterial infections, make sure to ask the hospital staff for a medication list. That way if she develops new and unusual respiratory or circulatory symptoms, you can check the list to see whether she's taken any medications containing chloramphenicol.
3. Keep Track of Mom's Medications, Too
It's not just babies who get sick. Mothers do too, both during and after preganancy. While you may not think much about the ear infection or that case of conjunctivitis you had a few weeks before your baby was born, you should think about how it was treated. Chloramphenicol, the drug that causes the potentially fatal Gray Syndrome in neonates, can build up in a mother's system and be passed to a baby through breast milk. If your infant develops a blueish tinge, his heart rate and body temperature drop and he's disinterested in eating, don't discount the possibility of these symptoms indicating Gray Syndrome just because he's been healthy. Talk to your doctor about any medications you may have taken in the past few weeks, specifically mentioning your concern that you may have exposed your baby to chloramphenicol.
