9Mo. Still Doesn't Make Tears

Hi T.:-)
I have never had to deal with this (Thank GOD) but haveknown a few friends that have.Does she seem to get "gook" in the corners of her eyes at all? The friends that have had their children(3mo.and up) make no tears brought them to their doctor and they ended up having tubes put in the tear ducts to make them tear normally.I am surprised those doctors did not mention that or want to send her into a specialist who exclusively deals with that issue.
I wish you luck!

Hi T.,

The Children's Hospital website says that babies don't produce tears when they cry for the first couple of months (http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2193/mainpageS219.... Your daughter is obviously older than that, but maybe it's a developmental thing?

Has she ever been hurt (a scratch or something?) I would think that she would be more likely to cry actual tears from pain than just hungry, dirty diaper - communication crying type of stuff.

Not sure that I helped much, but good luck!
C.

I googled it and here's what I found:

"In some cases, tearless crying can be a sign of dehydration. If you notice that your baby's perpetually dry-eyed, make sure she's drinking enough fluids. If the problem persists, her tear ducts may be blocked, a condition that should clear up on its own within a few months; your pediatrician may recommend you help it along by gently massaging the inside corners of your baby's eyes."

I had a similar situation when my daughter was 9 mos.
She didnt make that much tears either, she definately cried but there wasnt always tears.
1) I wouldnt worry too much, I am sure soon enough she will have tears.
2) On a serious side, my friend is a day care teacher and she told me that you have to be careful because no tears can be a sign of dehydration (not trying to freak you out). Evaluate her drinking/eating habits and if you think it is sufficient - then I wouldnt stress - if your doctor didnt make any suggestions .... I would wonder why?

Good luck, and dont worry - one day soon she will have plenty of tears and you will long for the day that she didnt have any! I remember the first time I saw a tear come out of my daughters eyes, I cried too - I felt soooo awful.

my niece had the same thing. turned out to be clogged tear ducts. unfortunately i cannot remember what they did to unclog them.

My son will be 3 in October and he has had tears maybe 3 or 4 times since birth. I was concerned as well, but he is just fine. He was a normal crier at birth and he still cries now all of the time, but there are rarely any tears. He is perfectly healthy and normal, so it doesn't concern me any more. I guess some kids just have lots of tears and some kids have almost none.

Hi T.,
I would get another opinion. As "interesting" that seems to the two doctors you have seen, she could have a serious issue going on. When I was little I had the same thing happen to me and it turned out I had dry/blocked tear ducks. I would definitely get another opinion, because it may be interesting, but it's not normal for her eyes not to be producing tears. Best of luck.

She might have blocked tear ducts. You should try speaking with an eye doctor.

I would be concerned because I have heard of this in small children & they needed surgery to open the tear ducts. It is not good for your eyes at all to not water, it is normal for your eyes to be moist even when not crying. It can cause many damages to your eyes. I have severe dry eyes but I make tears when I cry. I have to use eye drops several times a day & yet they are still dry & it is annoying as anything! So it may not hurt your daughter but I am sure it annoys her and is uncomfortable but she cannot tell you. So I would bring her to a pediatric eye specialist! You don't want to cause eye problems or vision problems because of this.

I would take the recommendations of some of the other moms and take her to an eye doctor or get a second opinion. Tears are very important for our eyes to clean them and keep them wet and healthy. My eyes tear even when I am not crying......an eye doctor would know best if this is an issue or not. I have found from personal experiences that not all doctors know what they are talking about and if your doctors haven't done anything other than say how interesting, you may need to find new doctors.

Hi T.,

Does she have blocked tear ducts? If so, the doctors can give you eye ointment to help with this? My son had this and now it is fine. I'm surprised your doctors haven't done anything about it. I think you should maybe ask a doctor if this could be the problem or perhaps change doctors if they both can't figure out why she doesn't have tears.

Good luck!!
K.

My 3.5 year old still doesn't have tears very often. He is definitely well hydrated and doesn't have blocked tear ducts. My 2 year old has had tears everytime he cries. I think it just depends on the child!