What are the factors that cause tear duct obstruction in children?

Tear duct blockage often occurs in children. Tear duct blockage will affect the normal physical development of an individual. Tear duct blockage usually includes several factors, congenital and developmental reasons, as well as inflammation around the eyes and nose, acute conjunctivitis, etc. These may all lead to tear duct blockage, so as long as you take good care of yourself in life, you can prevent the phenomenon of tear duct blockage.

Tear duct obstruction

Pathological etiology

Adults secrete 0.5 to 1.0 ml of tears every 16 hours. In addition to moistening the eyeballs and partially evaporating, the remaining tears are drained into the nasal cavity through the lacrimal ducts. Tear duct obstruction can occur anywhere: in the puncta, canaliculi, lacrimal sac, and nasolacrimal duct. The causes of blockage in different parts of the tear duct are different, but the general causes of tear duct obstruction are as follows:

1. Congenital and developmental factors: Congenital Hasner valve obstruction is the most common, and there are also congenital lacrimal duct atresia (including bony nasolacrimal duct atresia caused by bone deformity), congenital absence of lacrimal puncta, and nasal septum deviation. There have been recent reports of cases where ectopic teeth caused tear duct obstruction.

2. Inflammation: Local inflammation of the eyes: trachoma, acute and chronic conjunctivitis, blepharitis, acute and chronic dacryocystitis, sty, eyelid herpes, etc. Inflammation of adjacent tissues: hypertrophic rhinitis, nasal polyps, etc.

3. Trauma: Lacrimal duct laceration is the most common, and there are also mechanical injuries to other parts of the body, burns (heat or acid and alkali), nasal bone and maxillary fractures involving the tear duct, etc.

4. Foreign objects: sand, dust, fallen eyelashes, etc.

5. Tumors: lacrimal sac tumors, nasal and paranasal sinus tumors, etc.

6. Iatrogenic injury: surgery (nasal and paranasal sinus surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery), frequent or improper tear duct irrigation and probing. Radiation injury caused by radiotherapy of local malignant tumors. Severe allergic reactions to drugs, such as reactions after vaccination.