Anyone's baby ever had a blocked tear duct?

[lostindubai]

Please? I've been given chloramphenicol for her which is a bitch to apply (any tips?) and her little face looks so odd where one eye looks bigger than the other. She's only 10 weeks old

[Ahrightsoted]

My ds did and the best thing that helped along with the eye drops was massaging the tear duct. It's a bit gross once you do it right- the gunge that comes out is shocking. You just press and push up underneath the tear duct and it helps clear the blockage. He grew out of it eventually

[lostindubai]

Thanks for your reply. I've been massaging it for a day but there's been no discharge yet. I'm hoping there will be some soon as part of me is worrying this lump is something more sinister

[AThousandTears]

My DS had it too. Tried everything but it wouldn't budge. It eventually cleared when he had a night of inconsolable crying when a tooth was coming through! Not an ideal way to fix it though...

[BettyOBarley]

Yes my DD had this but hers was very hunky and we did the massaging, bathing with cooled boiled water plus we got some drops but tbh the GP just said it would go away of its own accord once the tear duct developed and it did, but she was over 6 months old by the time it did, so it took a while.

[BettyOBarley]

Gunky not hunky!!

[Oliviacolemansshriek]

Yes, my LO did. Kept having ABs but I found clearing and massage most effective.
Took about 6 months to clear. Never had a tear in all that time, was very odd.

[lostindubai]

Please can anyone give me any tips on getting the ab cream into her eye? If course she resists anything going near her eye. I feel like we're wasting time while this lump gets bigger and not even sure if we're administering the medication right. DP is being an arse not understanding why I'm so upset about it all.

[Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies]

Both DS's tear ducts were blocked. And they remained blocked until he was 18 months. I made a fresh salt water rinse every day. He had dozens of doses of antibiotics. I did the massage. Nothing cleared them.

Goo from his eyes covered his face. It didn't matter how much I cleaned him, he actually looked neglected (made worse by the fact that he a baby who vomited constantly, so often had traces of sick down his front). Strangers must have judged me (friends denied this - but I'd have judged me).

After a few appointments with eye specialists, he was due a tear duct deblocking operation. Then, one night, when he was about 15 months he woke up, and the one eye was clear. When he was nearly 18 months he woke up, and the second eye was clear. And that was that.

[Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies]

Oh, and as to how to get the antibiotic cream into her eye, I was told don't worry too much. As long as you get it in the right vicinity, the as the baby blinks, it will get where it should.

[legotits]

Make a worm before going near her.
Get her to look up while you blob the worm onto lower lash line.

I'm currently using that method on my DF in his 70s so admittedly a bigger target.
He does have glaucoma though so his eyelashes are the longest possible from his drops.

[LifeIsGoodish]

Do it when she's asleep.

[legotits]

Oh I forgot to say.
Worm onto a cotton bud, then the jaggy metal spout doesn't distract

[lostindubai]

You're all lovely. Thanks for the advice

[Footle]

A very long time ago I was a baby with a blocked tear duct. When I was a month old , the GP noticed it didn't look right, and simply prodded it gently with a needle while my mother held me. Apparently it was done very fast. Wonder if the needle was even sterile ?
I've never had reason to think the treatment did me any harm.. But I'm glad they do things differently now.

[mayhew]

If the lump gets bigger in spite of treatment and won't discharge or it looks red and tender, go back for a medical review.

[lostindubai]

Well I've had much more success applying the cream today which is a relief. Thanks again.

Mayhew, I've taken her to two OOH appointments this weekend because the lump got bigger. Different doctors saw her but both seem to think the same thing. I asked if it could be a tumour (my primary concern) and he said it's unlikely but couldn't say either way. I also asked if it might cause disfigurement as her affected eye seems to be moving away from her nose (I am REALLY hoping it just looks that way and isn't actually happening). Again he couldn't make any guarantees It's really stressing me out, and I have to wait 48 hours to see if the cream works. Add to that the fact she doesn't have a high temp so I'm not even sure there's an infection to treat... I just hope I'm being a drama queen.

[mayhew]

48 hrs in an otherwise well baby seems reasonable. I have known one baby who had an infected tear duct that needed surgery but it's not common.

[mrsplum2015]

I don't remember the lump or moving eye but my DS had a blocked tearduct and he (one of the obviously very few) had to have surgery to unblock it, aged 2.

He looked like he had conjunctivitis for most of his life up until the surgery, but he wasn't overly bothered by it and it wasn't infectious; no-one else in the family ever got conjunctivitis in that time.

The surgery was not great (putting him under anaesthetic was a bit stressful) but relatively straightforward, quick, only day surgery and solved the problem forever. It's almost ten years ago now and you'd never know!

[Wafflenose]

My DD2 is now 8, so I had almost forgotten about this! She was born with one of her tear ducts not properly formed, or not working. She ended up with her first eye infection at 3 days old, and from then on was on antibiotic eye drops for at least a week out of every month until she was over 2. Sort of sadly, we didn't really struggle to get the drops in, because she was always so used to them, although doing it when they're asleep is easier.

95% of children with recurrent blockages don't get to this point, but at 21 months, they did a small operation to pass a probe down there under GA. This was unsuccessful, so six months later, she had a bigger op (but still day surgery) to re-route things, which involved removing a tiny piece of bone from the side of her nose. She was home that evening, healed really well, and has been fine ever since.

[lostindubai]

Well our GP referred her to the hospital yesterday who checked her over and have now referred her to the eye clinic which our appointment is later today. There is definitely no infection or discharge but they still think it might be a blocked tear duct or a cyst. The lump keeps changing size depending on how much it's been prodded and poked.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and advice. You all kept me sane over the weekend!

[lostindubai]

Waffle I can't believe you almost forgot all that - sounds really stressful!!

[DeathMetalMum]

Good luck with the appointment today. Dd2 was similar, suffered with various weepy eyes from a few weeks old. I don't remember the lump but the massaging of the eye really helped. We were booked in for the op at about 9 months, after seeing the consultant, but dd's eye cleared up before the date of the operation, I'm pretty certain this is thanks to the massaging.

[Owlytellsmesecrets]

We are waiting for a second operation for my DS6. He's had the probe and it didn't work! He basically looks like he has conjunctivitis constantly. He is severely autistic so won't let you clean it.
They are going to insert a tube to make the duct bigger and then take it out a few weeks later!

[Wafflenose]

Owly they bypassed that op with us (it's the usual second line treatment and is comparable to grommits) because they felt it wouldn't work - maybe due to her size? (Small 2 year old at the time). So they jumped to the third stage, which was some sort of re-routing I don't fully understand, and removing a piece of bone. She has a small scar on the side of her nose. Hopefully your son's next op will work perfectly though!

[lostindubai]

So they still think it's a blocked tear duct. My dd hates having it massaged. Did anyone else's dc find it traumatic? I'm OK with putting the cream in now, but not enjoying the massage part.

Also wondering how long it took to resolve after you started massaging?

Your poor ds Owly