What should I pay attention to when my child has blocked tear ducts?

It is normal for children to have blocked tear ducts. This is related to the part of the child's body. The child's eyes are not fully developed, so blockage is very normal. Generally speaking, when this happens, you should go to the hospital for timely cleaning. Also, be sure to let the doctor clean it, do not use drugs indiscriminately, and ensure the child's personal hygiene.

When a child is just born, the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct is blocked by a congenital thin film, or the tear duct is blocked by epithelial debris. As a result, the normally secreted tears cannot be discharged through the tear duct, and the tears have to flow down the cheeks, resulting in constant tearing. When most babies are born, this very thin membrane is intact. After 3 to 4 weeks, it will rupture on its own, the tear duct will be unobstructed, and the phenomenon of excessive tearing will improve. However, in a few children, the sealing membrane is thicker, or due to congenital stenosis of the nasolacrimal duct or deformity of the nasal septum, the tear duct is blocked and the tears are retained in the lacrimal sac. The humidity inside the lacrimal sac is most suitable for bacterial growth and reproduction. Once infected, tears turn into pus. This type of dacryocystitis usually affects one eye but rarely both eyes. If a child is diagnosed with dacryocystitis, parents should not be too anxious, let alone rush to perform surgery, because the tear ducts of most babies are still in the stage of continuous development within 6 months, so conservative treatment should be adopted first, and the treatment method is local antibiotic eye drops. In addition, parents can also perform moderate massage on the tear sac area from top to bottom at the inner corner of the child's affected eye's nose bridge every day. When massaging, do not slide or rub your fingers on the skin. Instead, use your thumb close to the skin to apply force to the tear sac area under the skin, causing it to slide and massage from top to bottom. This kind of massage can be performed 2 to 4 times a day. At the same time, antibiotic eye drops (such as rifampicin, chloramphenicol eye drops, etc.) should be used 3 to 4 times a day, 1 to 2 drops each time. Use a cotton swab to wipe the cavity fluid clean before dropping the medicine. If the tear duct is still blocked after a period of time, you can go to the hospital for tear duct flushing to break the membrane. If that doesn't work, you can use tear duct probing to puncture the membrane with a probe to make the tear duct unobstructed. There are also very few children whose tear ducts are blocked due to bone narrowing or nasal deformity. In this case, other methods should be considered to clear the tear ducts. If the baby's tear ducts are not cleared in time, it may cause inflammation of the tissues around the lacrimal sac or form a lacrimal sac fistula, which is a fistula that is extremely difficult to cure completely and will also affect the child's appearance. Therefore, once you find that your child's tear ducts are blocked, you should go to a regular ophthalmology hospital as soon as possible to avoid misdiagnosis and treatment, which will worsen the condition.

Therefore, it is very important to ensure that the mother is in good spirits after this situation occurs. Generally, mothers are the most anxious after something happens to their babies. So what I want to say here is that mothers don’t need to be anxious. Generally, there is nothing serious after this situation occurs, because they are still children. It is normal for this situation to occur. Just pay attention to normal eye hygiene.