Any Advice on Remedies for an Infant with a Blocked Tear Duct?

Updated on February 20, 2011
M.S. asks from Spokane, WA
14 answers

My daughter is 5 months old and has had one blocked tear duct since she was 2 days old. It often causes her eye to be a little mucky on a daily basis. I took her to the Dr a while ago and they said it was not uncommon and prescribed an antibiotic in case of infection but it did nothing. I've noticed it is getting a little worse recently and was wondering if any of you have had experience with this and how it was resolved for you and your little one. Thank you for your input! :)

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J.A.

answers from Portland on

My pedi suggested drops of breastmilk, if you're breastfeeding. sounds weird, but seemed to help a lot. otherwise, just gentle massage to the area. mine eventually outgrew it, but it was a while.

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S.W.

answers from Portland on

my son had the same thing and it miraculously went away when he was about 8 months old. i know it can be hard to do nothing butt wipe away the goo, but it seriously just healed itself. good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

L.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Both of my children had blocked tear ducts. My Pedi suggested applying warm compresses several times a day and to place my finger under her eye and gently roll my finger up towards the tear duct. The duct should open on its own by the time the baby is 12mos. I also kept a baby wash cloth close by to dab away the tears. Also would use a warm cloth to remove the crusty build up.

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M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Does a warm compress help?
Maybe try that a couple times a day?

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M.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

Use a warm cotton ball and massage the inside of her eye in a circular motion. This should help loosen the duct and get it to unclog. Worst case, there is a VERY quick procedure that will open the duct. My son had the same thing on both eyes, and his were super yucky at first. The cotton ball thing helped, and the ointment cleared it up. Good luck! :)

1 mom found this helpful
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K.V.

answers from Richland on

My daughter had this and I tried all the remedies...warm compress, massaging the duct...and they all helped a little, but it didn't "cure" it, and I know that it probably would have just cleared up on it's own with time, but I hated that I was constantly having to poke at her eye to get the goop out and then one day, SEVERAL different people suggested that I just squirt some of my breast milk in her eye...there are so many natural healing properties to a mothers milk that it should help clear out that duct...so I figured what could it hurt? I started squirting some in there every time we sat down to nurse and by the end of the second day is was almost COMPLETELY gone and by the 3rd day it was gone and hasn't come back and she is now 19 mo. old. I'm all about natural remedies, so I don't know if it sounds extremely weird to you or not, but I promise, from experience, that it works!!!! Try it before you resort to medications and surgery. :) Hope this helps.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.W.

answers from Portland on

My daughter had the same thing and we did as the other mommies had suggested. Our daughter was still swaddled at 5 month until the day she rolled over and we stopped. This gave her the ability to rub her eyes and it went away 3 days later! Keep up on the rubbing, it should go away. Good luck :0)

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H.S.

answers from Anchorage on

A few drops of breastmilk once or twice and the gentle massage (inward and downward from the tear duct alongside the nose) several times cleared my son's right up.

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E.H.

answers from Portland on

I have so BEEN there. The advice on opening the duck from the other mamma's is right, but it just relieves it. My son constantly had blocked ducts, on both eyes. They were always getting infected and I would have to go to the doctor each time to get medication. At least it sounds like your doc is being proactive about it. It looked so miserable for my son, but eventually he grew out of it. Just be patient. One doctor wanted to do surgery on him but we waited and eventually it cleared up on it's own and he no longer has any problems. He was almost a year and a half by then. Hopefully it's a little ooner for your little one,

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L.R.

answers from Portland on

Blocked ducts are very common in babies, and usually open on their own before the age of 1. Just keep the eye clean of goop, massage it gently with a warm washcloth, and see the pedi if it's still blocked after her 1st birthday. They can do a very simple procedure to open the duct if it doesn't open on its own.

My son had this and it opened on its own at 8 months.

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N.D.

answers from Portland on

i second the breastmilk advice. it does wonders. if that doesn't work, a friend of mine eventually had the doctor pop it. she said it didn't look fun and her baby cried but it worked and she never had to deal with it again.

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M.L.

answers from Seattle on

My oldest had a blocked duct also and our pediatrician had us massage it. You can probably google a good way to do it. It took some time, but it did open up and hasn't been a problem since.

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T.M.

answers from Medford on

My second son had this, everyone always thought he was crying (just on one side). He 'grew out of it' around a year old, maybe a little older. His never got infected, and his pediatrition said it would most likely get better on its own, which it did. I know it is kind of bothersom for the parent, but it didn't seem to bother him any. Hany in there!

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M.H.

answers from Seattle on

My doc told me to get a warm-wet washcloth, and then slowly and gently press down along the nose into the eye. (If you imagine the tear duct going inward from the corner of the eye towards the nose, you are basically trying to squeeze the blockage out like toothpaste from a tube.)
My son had a goopy eye for about 9 months, but it is clear now. The docs also said it was normal, and didn't need treatment unless the eye turned bright red.

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