Blocked tear ducts

[clare458]

My dd is nearly seven months. She has had a blocked tear duct in her left eye since birth.
It's not inflammed or red and doesn't appear too watery but it does get a bit gunky and throughout the day I have to bathe it several times to keep it clean.

She isn't bothered by it all. We were told that it should correct itself within a few months of birth. Although it's not getting any worse, it's not getting better either. Has anyone else had this with their babies and what was the outcome? Did they have to be operated on and if so was it successful?

My daughter had this and it did resolve at some point before she turned one. couldn't tell you when - you don't really notice the absence of a symptom! Had no problems since. I think with most operations on kids they leave things till beyond one anyway so might be worth waiting.

HTH.

Dd2 had this. It cleared up sometime before her first birthday (j just at the point we were starting to worry it might need to be operated on).

Same for us. Gunky Etc til 1 year. I lose count of the no of drs appointments etc we have had. Cleared up just before her 1st bday when surgery discussed. Hang in there!

DD2 had this and it just seemed to disappear when she turned 1.
It was a pain to deal with and the countless comments from people asking if she had a poorly eye
We never got to discussing surgery, didn't even know it was an option

DD has a gunky eye at 6 months. DN had it too, it cleared up just before she was 1.

I though I'd update. My dd is now almost 9 months and finally her eye is clear and has been for about a month! Hope this helps anyone else with babies who have it. I'm so glad the gunk has gone!

Great to know thanks. My DD is 13 weeks and her gunky eye drives me nuts

It's really grim but hopefully it will go. Just before Christmas my dd had a bad cough and cold. Her eye seemed to get suddenly worse. I took her to the dr and made a point of asking about the op they can have if it doesn't clear itself.

I really didn't want her to have the op but it was driving me crazy. He said he'd make a note but they wouldn't do anything until she was 12-18 months old.

A few days after new year, I was getting dd dressed when it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't wiped he eye for at least a couple of days! I was so excited. It's been clear now for almost a month. I think where her cold was quite bad and made her eyes run even more, it's unblocked the duct.

Hope you don't have to wait as long.

My son had this also !
I would get a pint of lukewarm water and add a teaspoon of salt to it, dip a cotton wall ball in and then gently clean each eye.. Starting from the inside and working outwards (this is essential!)
I would gently massage his tear ducts with a clean finger tip - both of these did the trick!!!

My 6 week old had this in both eyes. It was really bad needed cleaning g at every feed and was permanently gungky her eyes started to get really sore in the corners so I started to rub Vaseline around them to stop the wet sitting on her skin, now it was probably the rubbing but the next day they had 100% cleared up, so perhaps worth a try?

DD had this and we spent the first year of her life bathing her eye in water constantly and trying different types of drops. Then a doctor gave us a miracle cure and she has never had a gunky eye since (she is now 2 1/2)

Basically, after you've bathed her eye give her a little massage with the tip of your finger, really gently, in the corner of her eye. I can't believe the difference this has made. I only do it for three seconds on each side, twice a day after eye bathing. I always use alcohol gel on my hands first in case of bacteria.

Good luck, really hope this works for you.

Inside corners?

Yep, we had it too. Both eyes - it didn't bother DS but it looked sore and was commented on a lot when we were out. I can't remember now when it cleared up - somewhere around 7/8 mths I think, but it almost changed overnight and never had a problem since.