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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Infant (1 Month Old) Unable To Open Eyes Due To Mucus Secretion. Is This Serious?

Our daughter is one month old today and is still producing a mucus like substance that is keeping her eye(s) from opening from time to time during the day after a feeding. Warm cloth has worked in the past but it seems to be getting worse (doing it more often during the day). The doctor said it is not an infection of any kind, but worried regarding too much build up if I should worry
Fri, 29 Nov 2013
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Ophthalmologist,  's  Response
Hello,welcome to HCM,
First of all don’t worry and understand what is happening .
1.the tears from eyes drain from tiny pores at the insides of lids into the nose .
In this passage near the junction of eye and nose is a sac which holds some tears while on the way to nose.
This sac is sometimes blocked /partly open in infants. it leads to watering and sticky white discharge from the eye.
You need TO DO THIS;
1.keep cleaning as you are doing
2.massage the sac ares with a clean index finger with upward peessure to remove all mucus through the sac ,wipe clean ,put antibiotic drop(tobramycin/levofloxacin) by pulling lids apart.
Redo massage with downward pressure toward nose to facilitate tear drainage .
Follow this 7-8 times a day ,baby will cry but keep at it.
You must see results in a week/15 days. Some cases take longer .
If it doesn’t stop by 3 months visit an eye specialist who might open the pore/track to the sac with a small probe.
hope i have put your worry at rest.happy to help
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Infant (1 Month Old) Unable To Open Eyes Due To Mucus Secretion. Is This Serious?

Hello,welcome to HCM, First of all don’t worry and understand what is happening . 1.the tears from eyes drain from tiny pores at the insides of lids into the nose . In this passage near the junction of eye and nose is a sac which holds some tears while on the way to nose. This sac is sometimes blocked /partly open in infants. it leads to watering and sticky white discharge from the eye. You need TO DO THIS; 1.keep cleaning as you are doing 2.massage the sac ares with a clean index finger with upward peessure to remove all mucus through the sac ,wipe clean ,put antibiotic drop(tobramycin/levofloxacin) by pulling lids apart. Redo massage with downward pressure toward nose to facilitate tear drainage . Follow this 7-8 times a day ,baby will cry but keep at it. You must see results in a week/15 days. Some cases take longer . If it doesn’t stop by 3 months visit an eye specialist who might open the pore/track to the sac with a small probe. hope i have put your worry at rest.happy to help