My ds (8 mo) has always had a problem with a clogged tear duct in one of his eyes. I mean, his eye look horrible! His eye lashes stick together, and he HATES it when I try to clean the gunk off. The doctor will prescribe eye drops when it flairs up, but I was wondering if this is something he will out grow? I don't want to be running to the doctor for eye drops for the rest of my life!!
Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, when did it clear up?

By Carolk on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 06:51 pm:

My daughter had this problem around 4mos of age. The nurses at the dr's office said to take a washcloth with warm water on it and hold it, I believe by the corner of the eye by the nose. I don't think it took more than a week or two to fix the problem. I did this at least 4 times a day. She never had it bad enough to need eye drops though. I wish I could remember more. That was almost a year ago. Isn't that terrible how my memory is already going? I hope this helped a little. Hopefully someone else can answer better.

By Carolk on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 08:08 pm:

Jennifer, I just checked in "What to Expect the First Year" book and it says that clogged ducts should clear up on their own before the baby's first year. They said some doctors recommend massaging the ducts. Also says if you massage the ducts and they become puffy or red, to stop massaging and inform the doctor.

HTH!

By Emily7 on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 08:19 pm:

Everytime you think about it massage the duct. If it is getting to the point that they are getting infected your doctor should recomend surgically fixing it. Both my kids had this problem, & I found that the ointment works better than the drops. Joe had his for the first 6 months & Olivia's cleared up in about 2 months. Youcan also wash the eye out with some baby shampoo to make the gunk come off easier.

By Amyj on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 10:03 pm:

My daughter had both ducts blocked. The doctor talked about surgery, but we decided to wait alittle longer before doing anything. Finally, the second opened on it's own when she was about 15 months. The first one opened during a plane trip. I guess the pressure helped. Eye drops never seemed to help her.

By My2cuties on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 11:14 pm:

My daughter had a clogged tear duct since birth and finally (when she was 10 months) the doctor referred her to a specialist, and she had surgery. Your son may outgrow it, but if surgery is an option it's not that bad. I think surgery took about 10 minutes, they just probed her eye and she went to recovery. Now she is doing great. Good luck!

By Momoffour on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 11:21 pm:

my oldest daughter had a clog tearduct. Hers was horrible. It got to where it was raw and looked terrible. we messaged it and use the warm clothes on it and nothing so at a year old they sent her to an eye dr and she had to have surgery which was an outpatient thing and it was very simple she is now 9 and don't remember it but she does at times have some problems with that eye. I think it is weaker than the other

By Jelygu on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 07:51 pm:

I'm glad my son isn't the only one with a gunky eye. I have been trying to massage it with a warm cloth, but it is hard because he HATES it! Hopefully it will get better soon, but if it doesn't, at least I know the surgery isn't so bad. Thanks!

By Ziggiee on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 05:36 pm:

Wow so many children with clogged ducts. My 8 yr old had the same problem since birth. She had both eyes probed first. Then the second surgery since the probing failed was to leave tubes in the ducts for 1 yr. This also failed the last resort was to rework the duct through the soft bone. I'm not exactly sure what this surgery was called and I don't remember all the details but she does have a 1/4 inch scar on the between her eye and nose....It is almost gone now. It's been over a year and no more yucky eyes.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 06:10 pm:

Natalie had this until about 3-4mths. It was gross. For night feedings she couldn't even open one of her eyes...so pathetic! Then one day it just stopped. Our ped said that very rarely sometimes kids need to surgically have the duct opened, but it's not common.

By Feona on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 07:34 am:

Also my girlfriend gets this. She said she cuts her bangs and washes her hair when she gets it. She said the allergens caught in the hair cause it. Dust or pollen get in the bang and in the eyes.

The warm wash cloth and massage are good ideas. I had it once.

By Mrsheidi on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 01:27 pm:

My friend had a bad experience with eye probing. Get people's opinions...find someone who used a certain doctor, etc.
My friend's doctor just probed it and made it worse. Her eye was swollen and infected because he made a false passage, a "pocket" if you will. And now she has to get it looked at for the surgery that goes through the bone in her nose. Her mom cries about it every day. DON'T just let them probe...especially a doctor who is not trustworthy in your heart or makes you feel like it's no big deal. It IS a big deal and my friend just wishes her doctor would have told her to massage it out!

By Jelygu on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 07:06 pm:

LOL... this post is a year old. Christopher ended up having the surgery, it took like 5 minutes, and it is 100% better now