My son has a blocked tear duct, everyday I have to whip this yellowish green stuff from his eye. he's almost a year and it hasn't gone away. I've talked to doctors about it, he says it should go away before he turns one but he'll be one in less than a month and I dont want him to go through an operation. Please Help!!
So it cleared up, finally. it took him getting pink eye and three different medications ( vigamox, tobradex and bacitracin ) massaged 3xs a day with a warm wash cloth, morning, noon & night for it to happen, but its gone :)
Has your pediatrician given you any antibiotic ointment? All three of my children had blocked tear ducts as newborns and the ointment took care of it. I recommend the ointment over the drops since more of it stays in the eye. The drops just drip out.
Have you massaged the tear duct? You need to massage it every day like 3 times a day. Start from the inner eye with your thumb and move out in a stroke. My daughter had it and she was almost a year when it finally just went away.
You may have already tried this... My daughter had a blocked tear duct when she was 3/4 months old and the doctor told me to massage the duct with a warm wet wash cloth. It cleared up in about a week, came back for a bit (I repeated the massaging with wash cloth) and it cleared up again. She is 8 mos and it hasn't returned. Good luck!
Just read the responses. Looks like everyone agrees about massaging the duct. :)
My daughter had the same issue. I tried the massaging the tear duct with a warm cloth everyday but it didn't help. Finally my doctor refered me to a pediatric ophtolmologist. I don't remember how old she was, but I think that if the child is under 24 months they just flush the tear duct out at the office. It doesn't take long at old and the only thing you need to do at home after the procedure is put drops in the eyes. It is my understanding that after the child is older that certain months (I think is 24, but not sure) they do insert a "drain" tube in the tear duct and leave it there for 1 year.
Hope this helps,
G.
My son used to have that when he was younger. Our pediatrician told us to use a warm wet washcloth and massage the tear ducts each morning. Eventually, he gave us an antibiotic to rub on the tear duct and it cleared right up. We haven't had any repeat incidents since. Good luck with your son and this issue!
~M.
