Clogged Tear Ducts
My little girl was born with two clogged tear ducts. Although this can be upsetting, the good news is that clogged tear ducts typically clear up on their own, without medical intervention, within a baby's first year.
To help speed up the process and to prevent infection, I followed these four steps:
1. Keep clean-
A vital part for making sure that the eyes do not get infected is to keep them clean. Do not let eye goop sit in the eye! My baby's eyes would be at their worse when she would first wake up from naps. I bought organic cotton pads from the local market and would very gently wipes her eyes with purified water. I did this throughout the day.
2. Warm compress-
Using purified warm water, I would dampen a soft washcloth and place over her eyes at least once a day.
3. Massage the tear ducts-
This was key to breaking up the tear ducts. Wash your hands and firmly massage the tear ducts in a clockwise direction and then downward strokes along the side of the nose at least once a day. You may want to ask your pediatrician to learn how to properly massage the tear ducts.
4. Breast milk directly in eyes- Breast milk is true liquid gold! It wasn't until I had my daughter that I saw firsthand the wonderful healing properties of breast milk. I directly dropped one drop of breast milk directly into her eyes around six times a day. Breast milk is full of wonderful antibacterial and antimicrobial properties which help prevent the eyes from getting infected.
Although at the time it felt like forever, by the time she was 4 months old, her left eye finally cleared up and about a month later, her right eye cleared. What a relief!
