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WATERING EYE |
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“My child has watering through his/her eye since birth. Why is that so?
Common causes of tearing in an infant include corneal diseases, congenital glaucoma infection and blockage of nasolacrimal duct. The later is the commonest cause. |
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What is meant by lacrimal system of the eye?
It is through the punctum that the tears pass to the canaliculi - nasolacrimal sac& hence to the nose via the nasolacrimal duct. Often in children the obstruction lies at the level of nasolacrimal duct, thus preventing free drainage. |
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How can it be treated?
Conservative management consists of waiting of waiting for spontaneous resolution with regular lid hygiene & massage and occasional use of antibiotic drops.
Lacrimal sac massage is an important part of early treatment. The technique was first described by Creiger in 1923 & is called Creiger maneover. Technique consists of applying pressure over sac area the finger sliding down the nose toward the mouth. This attempts to break obstruction in the nasolacrimal duct by hydostatic pressure. 10 strokes at a time should be applied, 4 times a day (=40 stokes/day) |
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For how many days should I continue my baby‘s sac massage?
Several studies have documented high success rate with sac massage continued till one year of age. By one year of age, more than 96% resolve with sac massage alone |
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What is to be done if watering persists beyond one year of age despite sufficient massage?
A small procedure called probing is done under GA, whereby a thin long metal probe is passed through the lacrimal drainage system in an attempt to break the obstruction. It is safe and a simple procedure and does take much time. However in some cases, if watering persists, probing needs to be repeated second or the third time.
Cases not resolving inspite of repeated probing may acquire other surgical procedures like Ballon Catheter dilatation or DCR as indicated |
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