Blocked Tear Ducts

The tear film protects the eye from infection and allows clear vision. It constantly replenishes itself, washing across the front of the eye, entering the inner corner of the eye, and passing downward into the tear sac and through a vertical passage (the tear duct) to the back of the nose.

Blocked tear ducts in babies

Up to twenty per cent of babies have blockages of one or both tear ducts when they are born, causing watery eyes and sometimes eye infections. The condition may be cured by daily massaging of the side of the nose, which increases the fluid pressure and forces the tear duct to open. In eighty per cent of babies the blockage resolves by six months of age.

Treating blocked tear ducts

If the tear duct does not open on its own or with the aid of massage, it may be necessary for your ophthalmologist to unblock it using a small probe. This is a minor procedure lasting no more than twenty minutes, with the child being given a mild anaesthetic. Probing of the tear duct is successful 90% of the time, however sometimes a second probing is needed.