Okay--I have two questions about my dd who is a week old that may seem silly, but I honestly can't remember from dd#1. First, dd has constant green drainage from her eye that started last night--it is runny and just keeps building up. Is this normal? Second, she has been spitting up alot--every feeding (I am nursing) and even 2-3 hours later she is still spitting up (and not nursing the best). Now she has started spittung through her nose--all normal? Thanks for any advice--I go for her 2 week Friday so I hate to call if this is all normal.

By Colette on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 11:08 am:

I'd call the doctor - the green drainage definately does not sound normal and could be an infection or a blocked tear duct.

By My2cuties on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 11:09 am:

The eye drainage might be she has a clogged tear duct, just a guess, that is what dd did when she had one. dd also spit up and I nursed her. I think everything is fine, try to elevate her head while nursing and keep her up after eating that helped for me. Good Luck.

By Kate on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 11:12 am:

It does sound like a clogged tear duct. Use a warm washcloth and gently clean the eye and when clean, hold a warm, wet washcloth against the eye for a bit. Do this several times a day. The spit up sounds normal to me. I am mother of the ultimate spit up queen! Spitting thru her nose probably just means she's still learning the whole breathe/suck/spit routine.

By Mrsheidi on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 11:12 am:

I have only had experience with the eye issue. My DS had a tear duct blocked but you can just massage it. Start at the inner corner of the eye with your pinky finger and make small but firm circular motions pushing it towards the nose and it should unblock it. Keep it clear using a Q-tip with water to "rinse" off the crustiness on the eyelids.
Sorry about the spitting up issue...hopefully someone has an answer.
OH, and DON'T get surgery on the tear duct. My friend had it done and it just made it worse. Her pediatrician never told her to just rub it out and now her daughter has to have additional surgeries to correct the first one. It's SO sad. ALWAYS get a second opinion.

By Colette on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 11:15 am:

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/kbase/topic/major/hw3084/descrip.htm

By My2cuties on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 12:21 pm:

oh and assuming it is a clogged tear duct..If it does not clear up on it's own it is best to have surgery around 1 year, I massaged and it did not unclog. If you wait longer than a year there is more of a chance of it not working, we went to a specialist for dd's sugery, that is the best bet. Surgery depends on the doctor, and the circumstances, as to how well it works for the particular child.

By Dana on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 02:27 pm:

ditto on the tear duct. DD had that and DS had green goo coming out of his left eye last week (fine now).

As for spitting-up, call the dr. Even if this is normal, you want to make sure she is getting enough nourishment. She could be having issues with learning to swallow or she could have severe reflux or any other number of things.

And just so you know, in the first week of DS coming home, I have called our dr office aleast 5 times with questions. One was about the green eye, one was about coughing, one was about DS catching whatever DD has been and I forget what the other calls were about. And yes, I felt foolish making the calls. And yes, each call was nothing that amounted to anything. I think it just comes w/ the territory

By Mrsheidi on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 02:40 pm:

Just make sure you are getting enough wet diapers...I forget the number, but that's a good indicator of nourishment

By Reds9298 on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 03:09 pm:

emdee - my daughter is 7mths now and she had the clogged tear duct for about the first 3 mths. it's gross and a pain to deal with...we were constantly wiping her eye, but one day it will jsut be gone. sometimes during the night when i got up to feed her that eye was completely dried shut from the green scum and I'd have to pry it open with a wet rag. it's a pain but normal and nothing to worry about. as always if you need reassurance always ask your ped! hope this helps!!

By Andi on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 04:40 pm:

I agree with the above...clogged tear duct. Hold a warm washcloth on it and gently rub it in a circular motion to help it clear up and unclog the duct. Do this about 4-5 times a day and that should help. I would also call the doctor.

The spitting up issue sounds normal. Make sure she is having plenty of wet diapers. If she only has a couple every few hours I would call the doctor and see what they say.

Congratulations!!!

By Reds9298 on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 06:50 pm:

We did the rubbing in the corner of eyes with warm cloth as well, all the time, and that never helped our dd - just wanted you to know that if it doesn't help it's not a big deal. My friend's baby had the same problem and his stopped around 10 wks.

By Heaventree on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 08:28 pm:

I went to see a doctor who was a lactation specialist and asked about a clogged tear duct. She said they usually clear up on their own. She suggested that instead of water to clean it I use breast milk as it has anti-bodies which would help with infection. It made sense, but I didn't take her advice as I just couldn't bare the thought of putting milk in DS's eye.

I went to the clinic and they gave me drops, it just made it worse. DS's eye cleared up on it's own in about 3 months. We did not have green stuff though it was more yellow.

Good luck and let us know what the doctor suggests.

By Emdee on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 09:16 pm:

Well, I went ahead and took her in. This afternoon the top eyelid was so swollen that it was turning itself inside out when she cried, if that makes any sense. But by the time I did some warm washclothes it was looking better. He said it was just a really bad case of the clogged tear duct, but just in case it was infected gave me some drops. As for the spitting up, she is gaining weight but he said to definitely watch it. It was projectile last night and he said the coming out of her nose means she isn't controlling her airway (I think). So we will just watch it. Thanks again for all the advice!

By Reds9298 on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 09:25 pm:

Sounds like this might have been a more severe case of a clogged duct. I'm glad you took her in!

By Andi on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 11:02 pm:

I was also told to do the breast milk in the eye and now that you mention it...I think that is what helped clear it up so fast. I would give it a try.

By Jelygu on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 05:01 pm:

I agree about the clogged tear duct. My son had to have surgery on it when he was 10 months old (it was a breeze, no complications and it hasn't given us trouble since), but most of the time they just clear up on their own. However, I would still call the dr. to make sure it isn't an infection, because sometimes Christopher's would be infected and it didn't look any different because it was always green and yucky.

By Monicamomof3 on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 09:26 pm:

Try eliminating dairy products (especially cow milk) from your diet. It worked for my daughter. She was allergic- as most babies are! Good luck.

By Brandy on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 07:14 am:

My opinion on the tear duct is if you do the massaging of the eye i think they gave me a certain amount of months for nick i did it and it still didn't help i had the surgery for him and it was at a small hospital 9 years ago Dec.13,95 i'm thinking to be exact lol = ) anyways he's been fine (knock on wood) ever since = ) they did both of his eyes so they wouldn't have to go back and do his other one later on...

By Dana on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 08:50 am:

Emdee, just one more thing. When I was told DD had a clogged tear duct, I pictured exactly what they called it. I figured there was something clogging it up. However, when I saw the eye specialist, he cleared it up for me. He told me the tiny tube that runs from eye to nose for draining did not completely develop. So there is no hole at the base. (and just so you know, tears don't come from that duct, they only drain into that duct). With time the duct often completes the development and opens into the nose sinuses. That is why they have you wait for your child to reach a certain age for surgery. If I recall, my DD was 8 months old at the time of her surgery.

the surgery itself is very simple and could be done without putting the baby under....except the baby would move if they didn't. The dr takes a small needle (for lack of the proper termanology)and places it into the duct and down to the sinus to cause the opening. That's it. It is all over with. I think my DD was back in my arms within 30 min of leaving me...perhaps even shorter. Really quick, really easy on the baby.

Up til the surgery, we had a constant struggle w/ the green goo. I hated it, but once the surgery was complete we never had trouble again. MOST surgeries are effective on first try, but I do know some women who have had to do it more than once.

Your dr will keep an eye on it but not do anything, except drops for infection, until the baby is old enough and the problem still exist. Then they will schedule an appt w/ the eye specialist and he/she will decide on doing the surgery. The eye dr does the surgery. So you can plan on a long wait if it doesn't clear up on its own soon.