Clogged Tear Duct

I went through this with my daugher too. Luckily my sister is an optometrist. (I don't think I spelled that right.) Anyway, she said to try to use a warm washcloth on it a few times a day. She also said she wouldn't get too worried about it until she was at least a year old and then get several opinions. Luckily my daughter's duct opened up right before the year mark. My sister also had the fortune of seeing my daughter a lot so she knew a little more about her than her regular doctor. I would recomend going to see an eye doctor that specializes in children. The pediatrician may not know as much as the eye doctor would.

Good luck!

My little boy also had a clogged tear duct. We gave him a bath everynight and massaged it and it did go away one day. Keep doing the massaging, it really does work, be firm and not too soft.

Hello, my son had a clogged tear duct since he was born too. He is 2 now and by the time he was 1 it had healed on it's own. I just wiped it with a warm washcloth and that was all I did.

I have had 6 children that have had similar problems with their tear ducts. Our first child, the doctor kept giving us medicine after medicine because he said it was an eye infection (none of them worked for the long term). With our second we had a fill-in doctor that showed me how to massage the eye. I showed my husband how to do it and then he took over. One night he spent about an hour massaging the eye and the next morning it was fine. Since then I have just given the child to my husband and let him do the work. I have never had to have surgery for it. Continue with the massages and be firm about it, under their eye will be red, but it goes away after a while, and it really won't hurt them--just makes the clog come out. Good luck.

S., it may sound wierd but if you are breast feeding, your milk has wonderful healing properties. My two girls both had this problem and thats what I did. It cleared it up in a matter of minutes. Hope this helps!
T.

My son is now 3 years old and he had a clogged tear duct when he was born. I did all the massaging, keeping it clean etc. The doctors kept telling me that it would eventually open itself up or it wouldn't and we would have surgery. When he was about 9 months old it hadn't changed much so we went to an eye doctor on our health insurance plan. He recommended surgery to open the tear duct up so it would be able to drain. We opted to do the surgery. He doesn't remember any of it and he is fine now. No problems with tear duct after the surgery. I think it helped my son and it hasn't turned into an ongoing problem.

S., My daughter had the same thing. My sister happened to be her pediatrician. :) I dreaded having to have her duct probed as well and like you didn't massage it as often as I should. I weeped until she was about 1 year and then one day it just stopped. It was nice, cause after getting pressure from her Dr. to get it looked at by the optometrist, it just cleared up. I'm glad that I procrastinated like I did because it gave her body the chance to grow and heal by itself rather than put her through the ordeal of having it probed. I don't think that there are long term effects if you wait, but you might check into that (I can't remember). My daughter certainly did NOT suffer any effects from my waiting until she was 1 yr. old. And my waiting gave her duct a chance to grow large enough for it to unclog on it's own. Good luck!

I have not had any personal experiece with this but my nephew had this same issue. His family was told to give it a year and if it didn't clear up he would neeed surgery. At 13 months they were getting ready to schedule his surgery and it cleared up. They have had not other problems for the last 6 months. Good luck!

We just had the surgery last month. Made a WORLD of difference. But tyr these first- warm clothes, antibotic-drops, breast milk (if nursing), rubbing way under the tear duct 4-6 times a day.
Good luck, it never looks good and is not fun to deal with.

I have a daughter who had a clogged tear duct from the time she was 6 weeks old until she was about 6 months old. I tried the warm compresses, the massage and kept it as clean as I could. She started daycare at 3 months and she got conjunctivitis (pink eye) 4 times before she was 6 months old. This was due to everyone (including me) trying to massage it to make it better. Her little eye looked bruised a lot of the time. At 5 months, I became concerned that it might affect her eyesight(our pediatrician told us it just would take time and clear up on its own too, even after 4 cases of pink eye). I ended up taking her to a pediatric opthomologis. She confirmed that she too thought we should get it taken care of and scheduled us for her to have surgery right at 6 months. She had the surgery, it took 15 minutes, I was scared to death but am so glad now that I did it. She was miserable w/ her eye and rubbed at it constantly before the surgery, she recovered within hours of the surgery taking place. My advice is to see a pediatric opthomologist and get their opinion. A pediatrician is going to tell you what the textbook says. The eye doctor will do her own evaluation and determine what they think. My eye doc after the surgery told us that after looking in there and clearing it out, it would have never cleared on its own. It was too deep and too much of an obstruction to massage it out. She is now almost 2 and we have had no problems at all.

My son had two plugged tear ducts---we did everything from antibiotics to massaging---the best by far was when we were referred to an eye doctor and ended with the surgery. He snapped back from the surgery within an hour and had no problems. It was scary to put a baby under and go through the procedure --but we were way better off. In the end, surgery isn't the worst thing.... he was in/out in less than an hour. Good luck with your decision!

Hi! I had three kids with this problem and my pediatrician told me to massage the tear duct by FIRMLY (and when he domnstrated it, let me tell ya' it was VERY firmly - nearly made me cry!) rolling a q-tip from just under the cheek bone to the tear duct. The problem comes mostly from a tear duct that is too small and gets clogged. As your baby grows more, the tear duct will grow and the problem will almost instantly disappear! Hope this suggestion helps reduce some of the goopiness!

My nephew had that problem he did end up haveing surgery but my sister who works at the eye clinic of wisconsin says that massaging it often at least every bath time if not more helps along with warm compresses though i'm sure thats eaiser said then done with an 8month old if your not happy with what your dr is saying try talking to your eye dr if you have one they might be able to tell you some other helpfull tips good luck Jen

Did your doctor tell you to use warm compresses on the affected eye, as well? Use the warm compress as often as you can, like with feedings...then massage afterwards. Also, keep the area clean with warm water and a clean cloth each time.

Same problem here-- though my daughter's duct opened up after a few months of massaging. Massage the tear duct every time you change her diaper. I also squirted a little breastmilk in her eye to help prevent it from getting infected.

My son also had clogged tear ducts. I too was massageing it. When he was 6 months old we went to an opthamologist who asked me how I was massaging it.... about 3 times a day i di... but no where near hard enough! The opthamologist did it once to each eye and they opened right up! I was not applying near enough pressure. I was really surprised how hard he massaged it. Maybe ask the doc how much pressure you need to massage with. You'll be surprised!

Mom of 2 bio, 2 adopted and about 50 foster (over the years)

My daughter (now 7) had a clogged tear duct. My doctor (who is also my uncle) never told me to massage it or anything. He just said it would probably clear up around 1 year. My husband, who is from Brazil, suggested squirting breast milk in her eye. That is what they do for eye problems there. Lo and behold, it cleared on its own shortly before her first birthday and she has never had any problems since. Her clogged duct doesn't sound as severe as some of the others in some of these posts so you have to make a judgement for your own situation.

Wow! You've got some incredible responses here! My daughter had a clogged duct as well. I, like you, didn't want to do the surgery so we opted to keep massaging it and use eye drops until she was 17 months old! Finally my husband and I decided the aggravation we were causing our daughter wasn't worth it anymore and she/we were tired of constantly putting warm washcloths on her eyes to clear the goop every morning. Our baby had colic and was irritable enough without us pushing her tear ducts so hard they were red. I can't emphasize enough how glad we were when we had the surgery done. They used the anesthesia that affects memory during the surgery. She's six now and doesn't remember anything about it. I probably would wait at least until your child is a year old before I considered surgery. Unless it's driving you and your child nuts! Look at it this way, so far none of your responses from parent's that opted for surgery have been bad...

Hi S.,
Did the dr talk to about using a warm moist wash cloth and holding it on the eye... if the baby will let you that often softens and helps the clog so that when you massage- its more effective. I would try that several times a day and see if it helps any.

My son and my daughter both had this problem. I was very afraid of the surgery at first. I made my son wait until he was 18 months to do the surgery. He is 5 now and hasn't had any trouble since the day he had the surgery. If I had known how easy the surgery was I would have done it 6 months sooner! My daughter is 13 months and she just had the surgery yesterday. It is wonderful! this morning was the first morning she had ever waken up without the goopy eye! I tried everything you could think of for both of them and ultimately the surgery was the only cure. We got to childrens at 7:30am and left at 9:30am or so. The surgery itself took less than 10 minutes and the Dr came right out to talk to us. We had her back 20 minutes later and she was happy go lucky! There were no IV's or anything. Dr Troia is the Dr we used and he was wonderful. He said in all of the surgeries they have done they haven't had any infections. 98% of them cleared up without any other actions.

Try all of their advice and hopefully it clears up on it's own, but if not please don't be scared of the surgery.

I know how scary surgery sounds but my son had clogged tear ducks, too and when he was about a year, they opened them up. My son came through it fine. He's never had another problem with them. All of his baby pictures look like he's crying, or had been crying.

It's better to have it done when they are little and can't remember it being done. I had surgery on my eyes when I was about seven. I remember how traumatic it was. I was alone at the hospital at night and scared because I couldn't see. Now, my surgery was different than the easy tear duct operation so I wouldn't worry.

My son had a blocked duct and the next step after massage is eye drops. We took him to an opthamologist who prescribed them. If drops don't work, then they resort to surgery. My son's cleared up with the drops.

My 11 month old had clogged tears ducts often. My pediatrician gave us some eye drops to put in and it cleared it up within a day everytime. I can't remember the name of them right now, but I can find out if you are interested.

My oldest had the same problem. We wound up being referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist. We scheduled surgery, but before we left, he massaged my daughter's tear duct. He used a MUCH firmer touch that I'd been using. I wound up canceling the surgery because the surgeon's massage was all she needed.

Don't be afraid of surgery to have this problem fixed. My youngest daughter is 36 now and she had the same thing when she was tiny. Everyday her eye was glued shut and so yucky. It was so awful trying to keep it clean and open. So when she was 6 months old we took her to the hospital to have it fixed. It was so simple and after that overnight stay she never had another problem with it. That was a long time ago and things are much better today with the procedure so don't be afraid to have it taken care of. Just my opinion. Thanks :)

My first son had a clogged tear duct when he was a newborn, and the doctor gave him some antibiotic eye drops. It cleared up the swelling, and went away. My next baby had one as a newborn, and the doctor kept telling me the same thing as yours: "Just massage it and watch it, and if it doesn't go away by the time she's a year old, we'll have to do the surgery." I was not happy! I delt with those icky eyes for a year and the doctor sent me to an opthomologist to schedule a surgery. The opthomologist said that sometimes antibiotic eyedrops will clear up the icky-ness just enough for the tear duct to clear up and work properly. He wanted to try them before he went ahead with the surgery, and lo and behold it cleared up! If your doctor won't give you any, put a tiny bit of neosporin (antibiotic ointment for cuts)in the corner of the eye a few times a day. (My mom used to get eye infections alot and her doctor told her that neosporin works just as good as anything.)

With the massaging... remember to always push from the tear duct DOWN the outer part of the nose... always away from the eye.. and according to our eye doctor, you REALLY need to do some pushing... it will not be something that your kid is going to enjoy... But it will be, at least based on my experience, something that is fixed just like that. I didn't hear the "POP" that our doctor said I would hear, but it really was an overnight difference. I think that we were probably at right around 8 months when we had resigned ourselves to surgery... and made the appointment... and THAT was our secret "other technique." We had no more than made the appointment, and it cleared up... so try that!

My sister's little girl had the same thing. I know it eventually went away, but I am not sure how long it took. I'll email her and ask what she did and then I'll get back to you.
Here's what my sister wrote:

I was lucky--my daughter's tear-duct problem just went away on its own at about 7 months. Most tear-duct issues resolve themselves eventually, though I know that dealing with the problem while you wait for a solution is not fun!

Most pediatricians won't even think about surgery until the baby is 12 or 18 months old. So I'd hold off on the surgery option as long as possible. If you are nursing, you might try putting a drop of breast milk in the duct each time you nurse--it's been rumored to help.
Also, warm compresses help with the massages. Be sure that you are massaging from the outside of the eye toward the inside, working your way up to the inside corner of each eye to help any stuck mucous get to the top and out.

Good luck with your decision!

Hi S.,

I've been an ophthalmic assistant for 12 years (currently staying home full time) so I hope I can help a little. Have you taken your little one to see an ophthalmologist? Sometimes antibiotic drops can be given in addition to doing the massage. I'm sure you are aware if you go ahead with the surgery your little one will be given general anesthesia. If the condition is chronic and persistant the surgery does work wonders but I do understand your concerns. I think it may be beneficial to you to see an ophthalmologist (either a pediatric ophthalmologist or an ophthalmologist who sees a lot of children) and get their opinion. Hope this helps a little.

I had a friend whose baby had that and they went to a cirapratctor..( however you spell that) it was a recommendation from her sister in law but my friend said she didnt' think it would and really it all clear out... must have been something out of alignment and she said that he barely did anything to her little girl but it worked and so she didn't have to have surgery..

My daughther had the same problem. My chiropractor suggested using colloidal silver. I bought it from the health food store. But before I got a chance to use it hers cleared up. It would be worth a try. Try looking it up on the internet and see what the sites say about it.

OK . . . this is going to sound strange but I swear it worked for my daughter when she was 5 months.

My daughter had had a clogged tear duct for a couple of months, and her pediatrician told me just to keep waiting and see if it cleared up on its own. Around that time we had some family friends come in town for Christmas. One of them said he could fix her tear duct for us. We asked how but he just smiled. We noticed a day or so later that her eye wasn't gooey anymore. Our friend finally confessed that he put his mouth over her mouth and nose and gently gave a quick puff. Whatever was clogging her duct came free, and she never had a problem with her duct again. Our friend, being a father of 4, and a grandfather of 2, I trusted he knew what he was doing.

If you are willing to give it a try, good luck. I hope it works for you.

I have an 8 1/2 month old that had the same problem and had constant eye infections in one eye from it the first 4 months. I tried the massage also, not as often as I should either. I was told if it didn't heal itself by the first year then we might have to do the syrgery. Our doctor and another doctor we visted keep giving us topical eye ointments. It would clear up for a few days and then come back. Finally they gave him a good dose of oral antibiotics. He thought we were not actually getting the infection so it keep coming back. Once he was done with the antibiotics adn the infection went away he never had any more problems. I am not a big anitbiotic fan but after four months of reoccuring infections it was the right thing to do.

My daugher had one of those, too...I hardly ever massaged it, and it just went away on it's own.

My daughter had this same problem. My pediatrician told me that massaging the areas does not really help. On her 9 month appointment he gave me the name and number of a specialist and i swear within 2 weeks it had cleared up on its own. (I wish he had given me the number sooner!) Hang in there it will clear up on its own. I do however have a friend who ended up having the surgery and she says it was the fastes and easiest thing she did and is very glad she got it for her little one. Good luck.

My daughter had the same problem and my pediatrician just kept telling me to massage it but that was not helping at all. I finally decided to get a second opinion and took her to a different pediatrician. Turned out she had an infection in both eyes. The dr. prescribed eye drops and the problem cleared right up. Needless to say, we stuck with the new pediatrician :)