My 9 month old son rarely cries with tears, but when he does, I noticed that only his right eye sheds a tear. His pediatrician diagnosed a blocked tear duct, but he has no symptoms of this (i.e. no goopy eyes or discharge and no redness or other signs of dryness or discomfort). We were referred to a pediatric opthalmologist but my son hasn't had his appointment yet. I'm tempted to cancel because my son doesn't really seem to have a problem and the eye exam is supposed to last 2 hours and will include dilation. Has anyone ever heard of this?
I spent an hour and a half at the opthalmologists yesterday and they found absolutely nothing wrong with my son's eyes. He handled the exam and dilation very well and overall, I suppose that knowing for sure is better than guessing. Thanks for the feedback!
When my youngest was diagnosed with a blocked tear duct, they had me massage it a few times a day, like every diaper change just do about 3 strokes. I wonder why nobody recommended that you try this. Maybe you could call the pediatrician or opthalmologist and ask if it might be a useful technique. Here is a link with information about blocked tear ducts. http://www.heatoneye.com/edu_ped_blocked.html
Do you want to find out what is wrong with your son or not? If you do, don't cancel his appointment. I have taken my children to a pedatric opthalmologist for years. They are so good at what they do. It is amazing what they can find out even though the child can't talk. I did foster care for 12 years and took in almost 100 foster children and had to see my pedatric opthalmologist often. Even though it doesn't sound like your son has a clogged tear duct to me either, I'm sure the doctor will be able to tell you for sure what the problem is.
C.
I would go if I was you. My son had a blocked duct and didn't get diagnosed till right around 12 months. He saw a pediatric opthamologist and had to have a procedure done to unblock it, it didn't work very well because he was already over 1 year by the time we got in. So, it doesn't hurt to have her checked if for nothing more than peace of mind.
One of my daughters had a blocked tear duct, and it resolved on it's own over a few months, but we did have to keep an eye on it. If you wait for him to show symptoms like the ones you mentioned, those are signs of an infection, so be thankful that he hasn't had one yet. My daughter was only a few months old, and grew out of it. If you are concerned about the appointment, I would call the opthalmologist's office and tell them your concern, and ask if all of those tests are really necessary for the blocked tear duct and would it make any difference in the treatment for it, maybe they can advise you on how long to wait. Or, call your pediatrician and ask why he needs to see a specialist now, is it okay to wait awhile, maybe the dr. has a reason/concern that needs to be addressed with the specilist. Good luck.
I have heard about it in adult form where the body is unable to produce tears. I am unsure if in this adults case if it has been resent she has developed this condition or from birth. I would keep the appt. though so that you can find out what it really is. Good luck.
All three of my children had clogged ducts at one point in their first year. I also massaged it a number of times a day and used a warm compress and it worked its self out. I would call your doctor and ask about it - it is much less invasive than a procedure. All 3 times they told me a procedue woudl have to be done it the massage didn't work - but we got lucky and it always worked.
My daughter had a similar experience when she was 6 months but with both eyes. Our ped said this is completely normal and there is absolutely NO NEED to worry unless the ducts didn't unblock themselves by 12 months. He said it's just the way the anatomy is developing and it can go back and forth for a little while (blocked, unblocked). I don't think my daughter shed a single tear for months. Now she is 13 months and just fine. I would save yourself the money and see if it doesn't resolve itself in the next few months- or make an apt but for three months from now and then cancel if you don't need it.
Best of luck.
My daughter, now two and 1/2, had a clogged duct. It was all goopy and watery all the time. I took her to the pediatric ophthalmologist and they said they would be able to unclog it but they would have to sedate her to stick a probe in her tear duct. I didn't want to put her through that. The other suggestion they had was to do nothing. They said it should clear up by the time she turns one. It did clear up on its own but she was about one and 1/2. She is fine now, no problems. I hope this helps. Good luck, L..
