About two weeks ago when I had my daughter (who was born this past Dec. 27th), the pediatrician said she had a clogged tear duct. At the time it was only a little teary. She is a month old now and I'm noticing more goo in her eyes, especially when she wakes up in the morning. I'm reading some stuff online and she has a Dr. appt. this Friday for a booster shot (so I'll talk to the Dr. or nurse about it) but I wanted to see what other moms experiences with this was and what did you do. Currently I am just wiping it with a warm damp cotton ball.
My daughter had this when she was a week old and the doctor just prescribed eye drops for her. within a few days of using the drops it cleared up
This is an area that I have had a lot of experience in....7 of my 7 children have had it and only one so far has had to have surgery to open it up. The first thing that you need to do, you are doing....keep it clean. Anytime you see gunk in it clean it, but use a warm wash cloth, the warm cloth will help open it up. Also when ever you get a chance massage it. Put your finger on the side of her nose closest to the eye that is clogged and then gently, but firmly push up towards her forhead. This will help to open up that duct. If you are nursing, then anytime you feed her and that eye is up, massage it. The main thing is to keep it clean, as it will get infected really easily. It should start to clear up, but if it hasn't by the time they are about a year, then you may need to have to open it up with surgery. If you have any other questions, you can personal message me and I would be happy to answer them. Good luck.
J.---SAHM of 7
I've had this with one of my babies. Plus there are 2 Opthamologists in our family....here's what they recommend...and I'm reciting this from memory...but ditto Julie C. experience below....
#1....always clean with a warm, damp compress, or sterile cotton swipe. If you're out and about, then carry along sterile eye solution, the kind used for contacts, dampen a sterile swipe and clean with that. When you are at home add a couple drops of tear free baby shampoo to clean warm water to assist in cleaning the eye.
#2 ....clean as soon as you notice any gunk. The tear duct has not opened yet which allows for the natural drainage and cleaning of the eye. So this goop now collects in the eye itself.
#3....massage the nasal lacrimal duct and the tear duct with the tip of your pinky finger. Make sure your finger is clean. Apply pressure in a circular motion on the duct into the nasal bridge and up towards the forehead.
#4...if you are nursing and your milk is flowing nicely, unlatch the baby and squirt a few drops into the eye. Mother's milk has natural antibodies that will help lubricate and sterilize the eye.
#5...surgery is a last resort...my uncles honestly admit they don't like doing this surgery b/c it's a bit of guess at how far to surgically open the duct. I'm not too comfortable with the guessing aspect.
HTH!
My middle daughter had this, and my newborn (12.29) had it as well. The doctor prescribed drops to prevent him from getting conjunctivitis since the eye was pretty goopy. We used massage to clear the duct, and it has been clear for the past three days. Fingers crossed that it is opened. If you don't know how to do the massage, ask your doctor to show you.
Yes, the massage that others have been mentioning, but be careful not to push on eye ball. Our doctor said that could cause blind spots. Just right below it, in a gentle circular motion.
I had this with all of mine. I just wiped with a damp warm cloth everytime it needed it. It helped. Good luck and congratulations!
Ditto to what Mum4ever said. My infant (now 9 month old) had this when she was born. After a few weeks of massaging it seemed to go away and we have only had 1 recurrence since then and after a few days of massage it was fine.
My son had this in only one eye and I just wiped with a soft warm cloth to help break up any crusties and clean it out. He eventually grew out of it around 4-5 months old.
