Blocked Tear Duct - Casselberry, FL

Yes my daughter had a blocked tear duct for about 6 months...The doctor told me to put my finger in the corner of her eye and with a little pressure, slide my finger down towards her nostril. I did this to BOTH eyes, even though only one was watering maybe three times a day. I don't know if that's what did it, but it did go away. I guess I was confused at first because I was only doing that to the eye that was watering, but he later told me to do that to both eyes, and that it was more than likely the eye that wasn't watering that was the blocked one...

My son had both tear ducts block one clear up and never was blocked again and the other was so bad that he looked as if some one popped him in the eye it was always infected the skin under the eye was always red and sore,(this was everyday for months) i felt so bad for him and we did the massages all the time he was even doing the drops and he had an antibiotics for his eye as well. he end up getting the surgery at 11 months and it lasted about 20 mins i was able to go in the recovery room and wait for him and everyone there said he did well. he wasn't on any restriction he could get it wet , he could touch/ rub his eye and he didn't need no more meds. what he had done was a tear duct probe, that is when they just widen the canal, if its at the end by the nose they could use a needle like thing to widen it but if it is up by the corner of the eye they sometime have to use what looks like these little clear rubber band in corner of the eye for months to keep the canal open if the probing doesn't work. and they have to use drops for about 3-4months. If your son's eye is just watery and red and he hasn't gotten an infection then i wouldn't worry if it doesn't clear up by 12 months then all they might have to do is just probe it, and when i say it was a fast procedure it was fast.good luck and if you live in or around the melbourne area we uswed Dr. Hoe he is a pediatric and adult optomologist. He was highly recommended, and he will tell you if he needs a probe or what.if you have anymore questions feel free to email me anytime.
kimmy

I am an ophthalmic technician and as soon as my daughter turned 2 mos old she had a very watery eye and I knew immediately what the problem was. I took her to the Ophthalmologist (my boss) and she said to continue the punctal massages daily to decrease the chance of infection and just watch it. Around 8-9 mos old it got bad and we thought we were going to have to go ahead and do it, but it would spontaneously clear. Around 18 mos the problem was pretty much resolved.
It has been my experience with my own child and with other children in the clinic, that they clear on their own more often than surgery has to be done. I would hold out as long as you possibly can on the surgery.

You said he is not having eye infections so that means the tear duct is not even close to being totally blocked. The surgery is not a big deal, my son had it and cleared up his problem. If it doesnt clear up then see a specialist if u can, a 'pediatric opthamologist'.
You said 'he becomes congested and the eye becomes watery'. Im no doctor but that sounds like something other than a blocked tear duct. Watery eyes might mean the duct is not blocked at all, and the congestion or a sinus problem is the real issue.

My son had the same thing. Just massage it and wait. I was not about to do surgery unless absolutly necessary. My son was just over a year old(about 14-15 months) and it went away. Just like you, it would seem like it was gone then come back again. Wait it out.

hi S. my son had the same problem,and i tried the rubbing and the ointments,but nothing worked and i got tired of seeing his eye always all gooped up,i felt that it might of not hurt him but it's got to bother him so i took him to see a ophthalmology specialist and it was so easy in and out in like 30 min.he just probed his eye and it was over,never have had any more problems since this was done and my son was not even 1 yet when i had this done.I hope this helps you some?

I hve had something similar to this, my daughter at about before 2 years old always had a "dot" on her ear, where it connects to her face, Dotn know the clinical term for that area, lol. Anyway, it was oozing out once in a while, i would squeeze it, to get the puss out, it was clear liquid like you desccribe. So after several episodes of this, i took her to dr. They put her on med, but it didnt clear up, went back to dr, sent to a specialist, we decided to do surgery. It did the trick. Everyone has this Ear Duct, and hers became inflamed. The other is completely normal. We went back a few weeks later and had her stitches removed. that was the worse part because she was awake for that.

My daughter had this. Hers cleared up just before she turned one. I probably would have waited a little past her birthday to do the surgery anyway if it had not cleared up.

A.

Both my boys had it for what seemed like an eternity. I would massage thier eyes all the time and it eventually cleared up. My best friend however was not as lucky and her son had the surgery. He came out of it alright and his eye is better now. The recovery is th eonly hard part. You need to be very vigilant as to him not rubbing, getting dirt or water int he eye. Best of luck!

My youngest had a blocked tear duct for months when he was a baby. I used to put a warm washcloth on it and then massage the area to help it drain a little. This seemed to help. I was also told that he would outgrow it and he did eventually with no surgery or intervention whatsoever. Good luck!

S.,

Both of my children (3 yrs and 15 months) have had this. We waited until my son was almost 2 for the surgery and things went smoothly, with my daughter the doctor indicated he really preferred to do the surgery before they turn 1. I'm not sure where you are located, but we went to Florida Eye Specialist in Boynton Beach, Dr. Friedman is the best and does a great job with the kids. If you need any more info please feel free to e-mail me at : ____@____.com

My son had the same problem from birth his eyes were always watery everyone thought he was always crying... But when he was one years old i ended up have the surgery done. the surgery is only like ten minutes exactly as soon as you sit down in the waiting room you have to get back up.. he was a little cranky after the surgery but the that day his eyes never were watery again.. I know it can be very scary to a mother but i am glad i did it and i trusted his doctor.. But that is the last effort though