Blocked Tear Ducts

When my daughter was three months old she had problems with her eyes being terribly crusty and sticking together when she would wake up...After I took her to the peditrician I was referred to an opthamologist who had me do "stretches" of her eye ducts (the circular motions with my finger tips..maybe that rings a bell for you) and we had to do then every time we thought of it. She was also put on special drops and surgery was scheduled for 6 months later. They wanted to in essense "roto rooter" her eye ducts to see if that would help and then would come the silicone eye tubing. Luckily the stretches worked and we were able to avoid the tubing. Personally I was so scared because it was her baby eyes we were talking about and such a scary process. I would have done it but I was very timid. If the doctor says there is no other option and you feel like it is for the best go for it. If you don't and it won't cause any problems in the future then do what you feel you have to do. Just remember that things like this are easier when they are younger than older...Good luck, J.

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As the others suggested... massage.. massage.. massage... it works great. My pedi also prescribed a drip that worked wonders on my little boy. I would use surgery as the very last resort. Good luck!

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My daughter had this same problem and our ped told me to massage it three times a day and to hold a warm compress on it afterwards for a few minutes~as long as a 20 month old will alllow! My daughter was 22 months old when hers opened up after doing this for about a month. I would give it a try before having the operation. good luck and keep us posted!

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I have never experienced this type of situation but I can advise on who else would know a great deal on whether or not you should proceed with the operation. My suggestion is to pray about it and let god assist you also in making a decision for your precious child. I am also a single mom but I have two children and I am raising them by myself also. It is hard but possible taking one day at a time. I wish you the best of luck and may god bless you both.

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We had surgery for a clogged tear duct when my oldest DD was about 15 months old. It had been clogged since she was born - we did massage, eye drops, warm compresses, etc. but nothing helped.

Luckily they didn't have to put in any tubing. The issue for her was there wasn't an opening in her tear duct for her tears to drain properly. There was a bone closed over the opening so they opened it enough for her tears to drain.

Try the other options to see if it helps. If not, I say go for the surgery.

I am no expert, but you might do a little bit of research if you haven't already. There is another board that I was on discussing this and someone suggested something like massaging the area with a warm cloth. Evenuatlly the duct cleared for other moms with no surgery. Like I said, I am no expert as this hasn't happened to me, but you might research ways that you might be able to avoid surgery. Good luck.

Hi G.!
And Kudos to you for being a S/W Mom!!! That deserves much admiration in itself.
As for the blocked tear duct, my 11 month old Twin son has one that is partially blocked. Our pediatrician had told me to massage it about 3 times a day for about 15 to 20 mins. To help it circulate (kinda give it a kick start). I know she is a bit older and you may have a har time getting her to sit still, but when they are talking surgery, I have to admit I'd try just about anything to avoid that! Keep up the good job.
Best Wishes to you!
T.

Hi,
My daughter had one when she was younger. It didn't clear up by her 6 month check up and we went to a specialist. Dr. Cogan at UAB, He said she needed this procedure to unblock it. It cleared up 2 weeks before we had scheduled it!
If you haven't been to a specialist, take her to one. Dr. Cogan said if it doesn't clear up on its own by 12 months, then it likely wont.
I can't say enough about Dr. Cogan. he is at the Callahan Eye clinic at UAB. ###-###-####

G., my son had recurrent problems with a blocked tear duct that kept getting infected. I kept taking him to the pediatrician and they kept giving me eye drops and antibiotic eye ointment. None of it worked. I finally had to go to a pediatric opthamologist in Knoxville, TN. His name is Dr. Gary Gitschlag. He gave us some more powerful medications and drops before even attempting a surgical procedure. My son was 25 months at the time. He ended up not having to have the tear duct unblocked because the medication worked really well. He never had a lot of problems after that. I am also a single mother and it is not easy. I would definitely seek out a second opinion if the first doctor was not a specialist. Hope this helps. C..