My son is 2 years old and his right eye always seems to water throughout the day. I've noticed it waters on and off and pretty frequently. It's not constant however...the doctors say that it looks like a tear duct issue and that he's going to need to have a procedure done at the hospital which will insert a catheter with a balloon into his tear duct to open it?? My husband and I are very nervous about this and a little skeptical because they were so quick to diagnose it as a closed tear duct. Wouldn't it water constantly if it were? Could it just be allergies? Does anyone have any similar experiences or advice? I don't want to put him though the surgery if it's not necessary! They say it will get worse as time passes if we don't do it soon...it's scheduled for mid-April.
BTW- my 6 month old daughter's eyes water quite a bit too, they say it's the same thing!!??
We had the procedure done by Dr. Roarty, at Children's Hospital in Detroit. It was sucessful! My son's eye did water for about 3 months after the procedure, but now it is fine, thank God! The hardest part of the procedure was when they had to put a mask on him to relax him in the surgery room...the entire procedure took less than 15 minutes and there was not even a mark on his face! Thanks everyone for your input.
My son is 2 1/2 now he had a partically clogged tear duct. My ped. said to let it go for a while and it would clear up. His did clear up. However, his eyes were not watering they were getting caked at night and nap time.
My niece had the exact same problem when she was born. She had the surgery when she was 3 years old and never had another problem. The surgery is not traumatizing at all. She is now a healthy, attitude-ridden 17 year old.
My son who is now 7 had a similar type of eye problem. His one eye would water more than normal it seemed. The doctor told me it could be a blocked tear duct or a narrow tear duct. I would try and put a warm compress on it and it seemed a little better. As he got older the tearing isn't as much. He really only gets it when he has a cold. The doctor had told us about the probe procedure, but told us to wait and see if he outgrew it. My youngest daughter sometimes gets watery eyes too. I am not sure if your son is the same way. I can fully understand not wanting him to have surgery if he doesn't have to. Did you get a second opinion? I hope this was a little helpful. Good luck.
Hello A. C!
I would not be to quick to have the procedure done. If you have not spoken to another doctor I would. Are there any other options besides the procedure?
I've seen the procedure done, and it doesn't appear to be a big deal. It really only takes seconds to finish. That said, if you're not convinced this is it, then go for a second opinion.
My daughter (who is 4 now) had the same problem when she was about a month old until about 6 months-the doctor told us to wash it with a warm wash cloth and massage under her eye gently, hers cleared up on its own, but he did tell us if it was not cleared up by the time she was 1 that they would want to do a procedure to clear it out-did the doctor suggest anything else before sceduling the procedure, I would get a second opion-just to see if it can be taken care of w/out going through the procedure, although our dr. did tell us it was very simple and not very painful for the child, I was still glad we didn't have to go that route. Good luck!!
my daughters eyes watered a great deal when she was very young. It has gradually gotten better- but one eye still waters especially wehn she is outside in the wind. the pediatrician said that it is a blocked tear duct and if it didnt improve by 1 year of age-it could be corrected surgically. It has improved and I have not mentioned it to the dr lately. But if my daughter still has watery eyes at 2 I would probably have the surgery. It is a procedure that takes just seconds.. but the child has to be sedated so they are still. I wouldnt worriy about the surgery-it is no big deal. it is not likely that his watery right eye is allergies. if it was an allergy both eyes would water and itch and his nose would run -- there would be a lot more symptoms of allergies.
You certainly dont have to have the surgery done. You could wait and see if it gets better in time. But dont be afraid of the surgery- it is no big deal.
I'm having the same issue with my 3 month old now. I actually just took her to the pediatrician and she prescribed Gentamicin which are drops to put in her eyes. She's hoping this will work to help "unclog" the duct. I understand that gentle massage works too, but that it so hard to do on a little one. At school conferences last night, my daughter's teacher wanted to hold my baby and explained to me that her 6 year old just had that probing procedure done to her last year when she was five! She explained to me that the docs like to do that when they're younger, because babies really don't care when you get in their face. But the olders ones need to be sedated for that procedure. Her pediatrician also told her that the eyes tend to water more when they have a cold. Maybe you could talk to your doc about the Gentamicin drops first. Hopefully that will help. Good luck!
I would get a 2nd opinion before I did anything like that. Have you called an opthamologist? I know a great one that my son sees. His name is Dr. Roa He is on orchard lake road in West bloomfield. His office is between 14 & 15 mile. They are great and take quite a few insurances. You could give them a try. Good luck and I hope this helps.
My son has one eye that always gets watery. I took him to the doctor because i was concerned that he had an infection. He does get alot of eye infections but the doctor told me that he had a blocked tear duct and to massage under his eye and the corner of his eye to release it. He never said anything about doing any type of procedure. Maybe my sons isn't as bad as yours but I would get a second opinion before I rushed into this.
I’m sorry I don’t have any experience with this to help you. But I would say that if you are nervous about having the surgery done, you need a second opinion. Make an appointment with at lest one other Doc. within the next week or two.
I hope everything works out for you. Good Luck!!!
J.
My daughter had this procedure done at 1. The word surgery is what is scary. It literally took them 4 1/2 minutes to do both eyes and she was back in my arms and awake in 10 minutes. I think we were at the hospital a total of 45 minutes with registration. It worked really well and she is so much happier not having to rub her eyes!
My second child had clogged tear ducts. I had never heard of this problem before! The doctor told us to use warm compresses and gentle massage. We used to be able to press on the area between his eye and his nose and actually expell a mucus like drainage. They told us that the problem should correct itself by the time he was 6 months old. By 6 months this problem had gotten worse. He had the surgery when he was 7 months old. The surgery was a piece of cake!!!! When he woke up you couldn't even tell that the procedure had been done. There was no swelling or bruising -- Nothing at all!!! If you live near the Saginaw area I could pass on the name and number of the doctor. He was GREAT!!!!! Good luck and let me know how things go!
My six-month old son has been diagnosed with the same thing in his left eye; although he's more goopy-eyed than watery. It has been that way since he was 2 weeks old. The doctors recommended warm washcloth massages to the corner of his eye (very light pressure mostly on the side of his nose -- not on his eye) several times a day. We did that for at least four months and there was no effect. He has been tested for infections and all came back clear. Our doctor tells us that it's fairly common, and that if it doesn't clear up on its own in the next few months, they want to do the procedure. It seems to happen off and on these days, which might be an indicator of it clearing up. Did your doc recommend the warm washcloth massages or anything else to try to get it to unblock on its own? If you're not comfortable with your son's diagnosis, get a second opinion. While my doctor told us it's not a "fun" procedure, it is necessary to avoid infections and other problems later on. Good luck, and go get that second opinion!
My son and niece both has clogged tear ducts. My son had it until he was about 2 1/2. With him I massaged the area around it often and the warm cloths someone else suggested.Also had some drops that I cannot remember the name of!It eventually took care of itself. I have pics of him at like 1 years old and it looks like one of his eyes is smaller. But it was just becuase of the duct. They threatend to do the surgery on my niece too.But my sister did the same thing I did and it went away.Not saying that works for everyone. But try other things before surgery if your afraid of that. But I am sure the surgery would go fine.
E. Mom of 2 great kids.
