What is the reason for excessive eye mucus in newborns?

For new mothers, sometimes they will find that their newborns have a lot of eye mucus, especially when they get up early in the morning. There are many reasons for the excessive eye mucus in newborns. The main one is that the baby's tear duct is not fully developed. Because the nasolacrimal duct is relatively short, the valve at the opening is not particularly complete. This will cause the tears to be unable to be discharged normally, which may lead to accumulation of delays and excessive delays. In daily life, new mothers should massage the child's nose bridge to help the discharge of tears. Of course, if the child has ingrown eyelashes or has symptoms such as getting angry, it may also cause more delays.

1. Nasolacrimal duct obstruction in newborns

About 4% to 6% of newborns have tearful eyes shortly after birth, accompanied by a lot of eye mucus and bloodshot eyes. The cause is often due to obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct. When tear excretion is obstructed and cannot be discharged smoothly, it will accumulate in the lacrimal sac, causing dacryocystitis, and symptoms such as tearing, excessive eye mucus, and red eyes will appear.

Solution:

If the baby is less than 6 months old, parents can first try the "massage method" to help clear the blockage. First, parents should wash their hands, and use the tip of their index finger to draw circles (it is recommended to keep the nails short to avoid accidentally hurting the baby's eyes), massaging from top to bottom, from the lacrimal sac to the nasolacrimal duct (that is, massaging both sides of the bridge of the nose), 3 to 4 times a day, and repeat 5 to 6 times each time. Most cases of nasolacrimal duct obstruction can be relieved by massage.

2. Ingrown eyelashes

This situation mainly applies to babies under one year old. When eyelashes grow inward, it will irritate the baby's eyeball and cause excessive eye mucus.

Solution:

At this time, parents do not need to worry too much, because when the baby is about one year old, the inward-growing eyelashes will naturally grow outwards, and the phenomenon of excessive eye mucus will also decrease. Therefore, the father or mother just needs to pay more attention to the hygiene of the baby's eyes. For example, they can use a wet towel to help the baby wipe off the eye mucus every morning.

3. Getting angry

Another reason for excessive eye mucus is internal heat accumulation, commonly known as "getting angry". If the baby has symptoms of getting angry such as dry stool, yellow urine, thick and greasy tongue coating, it can generally be judged. This situation is mostly related to the baby's eating habits. Most of these babies like to eat high-calorie foods such as fish, shrimp, and meat, and rarely eat fruits and vegetables.

Solution:

Mothers should pay attention to adjusting their baby's diet and avoid giving their baby foods that may cause inflammation, such as barbecued or fried foods. In addition, you should drink more water and take some Chinese medicine to clear away heat, purge fire, and relieve food stagnation under the guidance of a doctor.