Infant Eye Question

We had the same issue. When the massage alone wasn't working, the pediatrician prescribed an antibiotic ointment to use as needed. That helped a little, but it always came back when we stopped using it. Over time, though, the problem went away on its own. Our doc said that ther is a simple/brief surgical procedure to correct the problem if it isn't gone by 2 years of age. Fortunately for us - and, I gather, most people - this wasn't necessary.

My child also outgrew it. Probably by about 8 months.

My son had this at 3 months and my doc recommended to NOT massage the tear duct, even though many books recommended this. She said instead to put warm wet cotton balls on it. I did that 6 or 8 times a day and it worked. There are eye specialists who can massage it but my doc said its a bit risky to do it on your own. You can get an antibiotic ointment, but try the warm wet compresses first. Good luck!

I put breastmilk in my baby's eyes and it cleared up by the next day. It has antibodies in it to fight the infection and clear out all the goobers. Just express a little into a sterile cup and pour a few drops into each eye. That should do the trick!

My friend's daughter Haley had bileteral clogged tear ducts. Massage unfortunately was not helful to her. She swore by warm compresses - specifically organic chamomile tea bags soaked in hot water then cooled to warm!

Good luck!

Hello Alison. Yes it is normal!! My son who is 18 mths now had that but the one eye is still blocked as of today. The other eye cleared up on its own & around a little after he was a year old. Once in awhile when he has a cold or is teething it will act up. I would just keep tissues around & keep it as clean as possiable. If they dont clear up (like my son) they will do an eye procedure & put a little brush done the tube & flush it. My son has had it done twice now actually today we find out what is the next step cause they said something about putting a tube in there. So it should go away on its own. I just happen to be one of those rare cases it doesnt. Good luck & hope this help!!!

Hi,Allison!

My daughter had a clogged tear duct, too. I had to massage the inner corner of her eye and give her eye drops. She did outgrow it when she was about a year old.

Good luck!

Deb

My son (who is just about three weeks old now) was born with a blocked tear duct in his left eye, which we also massage and have been putting an antibiotic ointment on it (per dr.). My daughter is 16 months and did not have this, but there are a bunch of kids at her daycare who did. All but one of them outgrew it by 6-9 months; one little boy needed surgery to correct it but he recovered very quickly and is fine now. My son also has the green gunk coming out of his eye, which is a little yucky, but we just use cotton balls to clean it off. We're waiting until 9 months to see if it resolves itself (which it probably will, based on what we've seen with other kids) and if it doesn't, we'll get a referral to an eye doctor. Before my daughter started daycare I had never heard of it, but I asked her teachers and they think it is pretty common (sometimes it's nice to hear it from someone other than the doctor!) and generally resolves itself.

not to be gloomy, but my girlfriend is going through this with her 16mo. the original surgery(done at prestigious children's hospital of philadelphia no less) didn't work and now her daughter has to have tubes put in, much like they do with ears. it's rare, but does happen. i hope you have better luck.