Blocked Tear Duct - Albuquerque,NM

My son had a blocked tear duct when he was three months old. Docotr gave me ointment it didn't help. My aunt's daughter ahd the same problem. She told me to get Chamomile tea. I did I got it from a herbal shop and I would make it like I was going to have tea let the bag cool down. Then I would palce it over his eye and let it set for about 1 min. It worked great it helped his tear duct clear up in about three days.

My son had the same problem at that age. My dr said that in some babies the tear duct doesnt open right away. He said just to give it time and try to keep it clean. Magically one day...it all just stopped and cleared up. Honestly, try not to worry about it. I would still see the dr about it but I hope this makes you feel alittle better!!!

Both of my kids also had this. Just use a soft warm washcloth as a compress several times a day to clean the goop out of the eye. If you also apply mild pressure on the upper side of the nose closest to the affected eye it will help to clear up the blockage in the tear duct. It will usually clear up within a week or so. Good luck.

My baby boy had a blocked tear duct too. It was gooey and gobs of boogie stuff would seep out near the tear duct. Sometimes he would wake up with his eye crusted shut and we would have to wash it off with a warm wash cloth so he could open it. There wasn't anything the doctors would do except tell me to lightly massage it with my fingers and keep it clean with a warm wash cloth. Sometimes if it is serious they recommend surgery but I think that most of the time kids outgrow it as their tear ducts get bigger when they grow.

When my daughter was about a month old she also had the same symptoms as your son. Our doctor told us that it was a clogged tearduct and that it could last up to a year. My cousin told me that if you take a cu-tip and wet it with warm water. Then rub the cu-tip alongside the nose (the same side as the clogged tearduct) in a downward motion this will help break up what's clogging the duct. Don't get the cu-tip too close to the corner of the eye. Just start rubbing a little bit below the corner of the eye and rub downwards along the side of the nose where it meets the cheek. Within a few days, my daughter was completely back to normal.

Hope that helps!

T.

My daughter is 18 months old and still has this. When she was a few weeks I noticed it and called my Dr. He recommended that I bring her in. I did and it was the same as all of the other responses. The Dr. said that it could require surgery, but they wouldn't do so until she was at least a year (and that rarely happens). When it didn't clear up for a year (and my daughter had about 5 cases of pinkeye) I became concerned, and my Dr. said if it persisted much longer he would refer me to a pediatric opthamologist. In the MEANTIME it seemed to get worse and while I was visiting my aunt in Co. Spgs. the area around her eye became red and puffy. My Dr. sent her to the hospital and it turned out that the moisture had harbored bacteria that caused her to have a peripheral eye infection that could have made her go blind or die. She had to go on antibiotics (oral and topical), and see pediatric opthamologist. Now she has to have surgery for it. The moral of the story is to keep it clean with cottonballs or a clean washcloth (every time, a dirty one can spread bacteria into the eye), and if you notice any changes notify your Dr. immediately.
-Jen

It is 'very' common. All you have to do is gently message the tear duct and it will go away on its own within a day or two. I did experienced the same thing with my daughter. I did not use a washcloth and water either...just my fingers. Our pediatrician did not recommend eye drops or herbal remedies.

Hi R.,your son may have conjunctivitis or "pink eye", it is treated with antibiotics. I would have him evaluated by his pediatrician as soon as possible. Good luck! E.

I would call your pediatrician back and insist on an earlier appointment or ask to talk to one of the nurses there. Your baby is so little - it could be an eye infection. I'm surprised they would make you wait that long.

Hi R.,

I had the same thing with my son Simon. He was only a couple of weeks old. Something my dr. told me to do was brew some weak tea, let it cool and soak cotton balls in the tea and gently clean his eyes with the cotton balls.
She also gave me a prescription for opthalmic ointment and was able to call it in to the pharmacy before seeing him in the office.
Also, I found on a mid-wife website that a good treatment is to express a little breast milk into his eye. That sounds a little wierd - I know, but it did help. I used a combination of the three and his eye cleared up within a couple days and he hasn't had any problems since.

Hope this helps!

I bet you anything this is conjunctivitis (pink eye). My son has had a blocked tear gland from birth, but has recently had yellow pus coming from just one eye only (with a stuffy nose cold). Dr. said if any color is coming from it - it is pink eye. Call your dr. and tell him your son has pink eye & they might prescribe eye drops or eye cream for it over the phone. When your child has a blocked sinuses - then the mucus really has no where else to go, but up into the eye. Make sure to wash your hands often & don't let others touch his eye area because it's contagious. Good Luck! J. R.

R.,
As many other mother's mentioned it is most likely a clogged tear duct and it's important to know that it will likely clear up anywhere from a couple of weeks to up to 12 months. My son had the exact same symptoms after he was a few weeks old, I took him to the pediatrician and he was diagnosed with clogged tear ducts. The second eye also clogged up and it lasted till he was 9 mos. old and of a sudden cleared up literally overnight (both eyes within 2 weeks of eachother). It's definitely a pain (especially for your baby and if it lasts as long as my son's did), but you just get accustomed to gently wiping their eyes throughout the day as they continually build up greenish goo. I did get a prescription for erithromyacin to use when his eyes would become especially irritated and that worked pretty well. It's a gel substance that you squeeze right onto the eyball - it doesn't hurt or sting them at all. Most Dr's will tell you to wait until at least a year has passed before they decide to go in surgically to open the ducts. I hope this helps!

Hi R.... the pus/discharge sounds like pink eye symptoms. Any redness? This is something I would definetly get checked out as soon as possible. Does your ped office have more than one doctor? If so, I would take him in for a sick visit, which they can usually schedule that same day. I'm not sure how bad it is, but waiting over the weekend may be harmful to your baby boy. You want to treat whatever it is quickly so that it won't spread to the other eye, if it is infectious. But definetly call your doctor's office tmrw and schedule a sick visit if they have it, or try one of those urgent care places. Hope this helps out a bit..

S.

My daughter had the same thing when she was about 4mos-8mos or a little longer. Take a warm wash cloth to the clogged tear duct for about a minute or however long your son will let you. Then you need to massage the duct to get the discharge out, the longer you massage, the more stuff that will come out and it should clear on it's own. The doctor will probably be like my daughter's doctor was, he was going to send her to surgery. But try this and let me know if it works for your son the way it worked for me!! You can also just try massaging it sometimes without the warm cloth, but the warmth does help.
A. ____@____.com

looks like you've had lots of responses. it is fairly common. two of my kids had it. My first child had it in both eyes for a year, when it spontaneously healed overnight. People would constantly ask me if he was sick...annoying! I rubbed the duct as others have descibed every time I nursed/fed him. Also gently used a warm washcloth just to get the gunk out, but use whatever you think works best for your baby. If it persists after one year, they will then recommend you see a pediatric opthamologist as the tear duct might be non-existent. Most times, juts under-developed and needs time to do so. No worries!!!

When this happened with my grandson it turned out that
he had an ear infection. We had no idea because he didn't
really seem real sick except for the discharge.

Hi,

Dont worry. It is a blocked tear duct, my daughter had it when she was a baby too. They give you an ointment to put on it and it clears up with in a week. Just keep doing what your doing, just washing with a bit of saline solution on a cotton ball or washcloth just enough to take a bit off until you an get to the doctor.

Hi R. :)

My son had a clogged tear duct. His eyes made tears all the time, and sometimes still do. He had the yellow stuff too for awhile when he was about your son's age, and I went to the pediatrician who gave me antibiotic eyedrops I had to use for like a week, I think it was. My son's wasn't a huge problem - I tried to use the warm wet washcloth to gently pull the duct open (pull down toward nose) which seemed to help. But if you are doing that and it isn't clearing and remains yellow, you definitely need to see the ped just to get either medicine or further recommendations cuz yellow and green and infections. It can be treated easily, but in some cases it requires minor surgery to open the duct.
He will recover :) My mom had 5 kids and she said several of us had it and none of us have problems anymore :)

My son had the same thing until he was about 6 months old. It's not uncommon, they usually give it some time to see if it clears up on its own. Just keep doing what your doing, gently cleanse w/ warm water.
Literally overnight it just cleared up! But he did have it for several months.

Good Luck!

I would definitely get your son in to see a Doctor to rule out an eye infection. My niece was 2 weeks old and had the same thing and my brother was asked to take my niece to Children's Hospital where they were concerned that it could be an infection that if left untreated could go to her brain. They were very serious about it. I would take no chances in assuming what it is especially when they are so young.

Hi R.,
This happened to my daughter too. Just take a warm wash cloth and massage the inner part, around her nose and downward, putting a little pressure. This is the way my Dr. showed me, my daughter did not like it, but it worked and it only lasted maybe a week. Good Luck.

A warm washcloth around and on his eye a few times a day ~ even if nothing is there and your doctor should be able to prescribe drops over the phone. My oldest daughter had this when she was born too~ Lasted about 1 - 2 months.

K.

Hang in there.

my daughter had the same issue...I thought it was because of a cold or conjunctivitis, but I scheduled the first appt I could with ANY pediatrician that was avail. they prescribed drops and on our regular visit, my daughters' doctor prescribed the cream (just in case). I would recommend frequent cleaning his eyes and making sure that your hands are clean at all times too...my ped said that this is actually very common.

R.- Since your baby is so young and you're a new mom, I would always recommend getting in to see a doctor. When my Ped isn't available, I take my baby to an Urgent Care. The best advice is the professional advice, so go see a doctor. Never assume things with a baby.

hello my now five year old son had a blocked tear duct as well when he was about one month old. it was just as you said, sometimes he couldnt even open his eye. just warm water to clean it with through out the day. we tried to use very soft wash cloths also dye free. though some irritation would occ. happen. we were told theres nothing to do that he will outgrow it and he did well be for one year. we have had no problems since about seven months so just hang in there. i know how hard it is to get your baby up in the morning and see his eye gouped together. good luck N.

My son had this too, it freaked me out! My Dr. had me put breastmilk in it a couple times a day. She wasn't really into medicated, but it worked great! I would just pump it and use a dropper. Good Luck!

Could it be pinkeye? Is ther another doctor at the office, maybe an on call doctor, there is always nextcare(urgent care) or something like that. As far as his face being irritated by the wash cloth use lotion to cure the chapping. I would continue with cloth and warm water, Until you can get into the doctor.

my daughter had the same thing from the time she was born til about 2 months old. we just used a warm washcloth and kept wiping (as everyone else is telling you to do). the doctor had us wait it out. eventually, the doctor gave us a number to a specialist but it cleared up right away before we called the specialist. your son will outgrow it. i would just hold tight and wait for it to clear.

R.,

From the subject of your message, it sounds like someone already suggested it might be a blocked tear duct. My son had the same problem with eye discharge when he was a couple months old. The pediatrician said it was blocked tear ducts and to just kept dabbing at his eyes with a warm washcloth. That seemed to do the trick, and I think the problem stopped about a week (or a few days longer) after that.

My son had the same thing for about 2 months. I actually had to take my son into the doctor twice because it wasn't clearing up. The 1st time they gave me an ointment to put on the bottom of his eye lid, that didn't end up working so then I took him back and i got some eye drops. In the mean time I took a warm wash cloth and gently massaged the corner of his eye. Sometimes you can acually see the stuff come out. My sone had this for about 2 months. Don't worry sooner or later it wiil go away!
Good luck!

My daughter has the same thing, my Ped just has told me to rub on the bridge of her nose (while nursing, for distraction) in an upward motion to "pop out" what is clogging the duct. If it does not clear up by one year of age, there is a simple procedure that is done to open it. I have also been using warm compresses on it, I read that this can help. As long as his eye is not red or seeming to be painful, I bet you are in the clear.

Good Luck
K.

This happened to my son, only his leakage was clear. I have a friend who is a baby nurse, her name happens to be R., also, and this is directly from the email she sent me. I believe your son is going to need drops, but follow these instructions until you can get him in to be evaluated. Here is the email she sent me:

M. Kate, it may be a plugged duct. Apply a warm (not hot) washcloth to the area when he's asleep. Then very gently, massage it in a downward motion. from under the eye on the nasal side.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_1035.html

This site describes the technique...but is alarming with the statistics. As long as Tao's eye is clear, not red and no thick green or yellow discharge, there's no need to start any drops. His eye may have some crusties, but they will be a light yellow or cream color.

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bhealth/0,,3qdx,00.html

Hope this works...it usually does.
Hugs,
R.

My son had the same thing and it ended up getting infected. My Ped prescribed some eye drops and within 24 hours the eye was cleared. I have noticed that the eye with the blocked tear duct doesn't open as wide as the other one. But the eye drops did the trick.

Well I would call a pediatric ophthalmologist. Dr. Sato is the only dr that we used to refer all the kids to. I would use a warm compress to put on the eye to get all that gunk out. My son had the same thing when he was 2 mos old. I just used azithromycin, its a gel that you just squeez into your childs eye. It worked really well. Well good luck with everything and I hope your son gets better.