Clogged Tear Ducts

Treating A Clogged Tear Duct

Hi moms!  Hope your baby is doing well. I read that some babies
have tear ducts that become clogged. So, I did some research.

When the baby’s tear duct become clogged, tears can’t drain
properly, which leads to swollen and watery eyes.

If they have this, you will prolly notice this in their first few weeks.

Most of the time a clogged duct is not serious. They will usually
open by themselves within a year or so.

In this post, I’ll cover the cause, symptoms, and the answers to
help baby with this problem.

Cause

One of the causes of a blocked duct is a faulty membrane that
covers the duct. It might not be opening normally.

“A blocked tear duct could also be caused by:

the absence of the opening of the duct of the upper or lower eyelid

a tear duct system that is too narrow

an infection

a crooked or misplaced bone blocking the tear duct from the nasal
cavity.

Other symptoms caused by conditions like a cold can worsen
symptoms of a blocked tear duct.”   read more

Symptoms

One of the symptoms you might notice are baby’s eyes watering
a lot.

Also, a discharge coming out of one or both eyes. The discharge
can be watery.

It might also be a mucus type of substance or both. A watery
mucus. The color is commonly greenish yellow.

The eyelids might be swollen and red. They might also stick 
together after waking from a sleep.

These symptoms usually won’t bother baby. You can ask your
baby doctor if it’s serious, though.

If baby’s tear duct remains clogged it will be prone to
infection. The infection can come from bacteria stayng on the
eyelids.

All babies have bacteria caught by the eyelids. Then the bacteria
gets washed away when baby cries.

If their tears aren’t working, the bacteria might stay and cause an
infection.

Remedies

Warm Compress

You can place a warm damp washcloth over baby’s eyes to help
ease the symptoms.

Also, wipe away any crusting or discharge, starting from near the
eye and wiping outward.

Massage

Most doctors say massaging at home is the best remedy. Yours can 
show you how to do it.

“The American Academy of Ophthalmology suggest massaging the
ducts using 10 strokes twice a day.

For a baby, it is best to do the blocked tear duct massage during a
diaper change.

Experts frequently recommend using a cotton swab rather than a
finger, because the swab’s smaller size makes it easier to target
the tear sac.”   read more

Also, Todays Parent says “Doctors recommend massaging the tear
duct area two to three times a day with freshly washed hands.

Using your index finger, apply medium pressure to the part of your
baby’s eye closest to the nose and massage downward, toward
the nose.

During the massage, you might see some fluid come out of your
baby’s nose, says Liu—or you may see nothing at all.”  read more

Breast Milk

Some moms say you can place a few drops of your breast milk a
few times every day in the corner of the eye.

This might help to clear up any discharge and also help prevent any
infection from happening.

” you can place a couple drops of breast milk into the corner of the
eye near the nose;

do this 4-6 times a day, and you will be able to benefit from the
antibiotic properties of your breast milk.”   read more

OK, moms! I hope this has been helpful. There are reports that as
many as 20% of infants have this problem.

It’s usually not serious, but talk to your baby doctor. There are
times when they will recommend antibiotics.

Have a great day!

courtesy paulthomasmd@youtube.com

The links on this webpage may contain affiliate links. This means we may
receive a commission if you decide to make any purchases using our links.
This affiliate relationship does not alter the integrity of our content
in any way. Thanks, for your support!