Causes And Symptoms Of Blocked Tear Duct
Blocked tear duct is otherwise called as dacryostenosis, blocked lacrimal duct or blocked nasolacrimal duct. There is a duct on each eye called nasolacrimal duct which carries the tears from the eyes to the nose.
This duct may get obstructed partially or completely and this leads to the over flow of tears from the eye through the cheeks. New borns are more prone to this problem.
In adults certain infections may cause obstruction with in this duct. With little care most of the kids unclog of this problem in a year’s time. Rarely does it need surgical treatments.
Causes of Blocked Tear Duct
Most of the kids are born with partially developed tear duct. Here the duct will be very narrow or there may be tissues that block the flow of tears from the eyes. With proper attention many of the kids will overcome this problem with in one year time.
In other cases kids may have nasal polyps which are a small vascular growth on the surface of a mucous membrane of the nose at the end of the duct. A tumor or cyst with in the nose may also cause blockages. An eye injury that cuts the tear duct can also cause blocks.
Symptoms of Blocked Tear Duct
Kids having blocks in tear duct may develop their symptoms soon after birth or with in three months time. Commonly noticed symptom is the overflow of tears from the eyes even if the kid is not crying. Sometimes you can notice pus at the corners of the eyes and at many times there will be a crust over eyelashes or eye lid when the kid wakes up.
This is because the mucus materials produced with in the tear sac gets accumulated in the eye rather than draining through the duct. In certain cases it may cause infection and there will a red discoloration at the corner of the eyes and at times you can see bumps at sides of the nose near to the eyes.
Massaging the inner corner of your kid’s nose several times a day and cleaning the eyes with warm cotton pads may help you to avoid infections and to slowly recover from this problem.
