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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Clogged Tear Ducts

Caleb is finally over his cold but I took him back to the doctor because his eyes are goopy and he has been waking up for the last few days with his lashes stuck together. It turns out that Caleb probably never had pink eye after all. The crusties/goop in his eyes is due to clogged tear ducts. They are so clogged that the tears/goop have no where to go so it all gets backed up and is causing the puffiness around his eyes too. In the morning it's really bad that I have to use a warm washcloth to soften his crusties so he can open his eyes. He hates it! I hate it too because he thinks I'm being mean and I'm just trying to help. So now what? The doctor said I need to massage his tear ducts several times a day and use the warm compress often. It's not easy when he doesn't want to cooperate. If it continues and doesn't seem to get better then they may want to operate to open his ducts. Oh, brother. I'm just wrapping my brain around the idea that he has to have surgery on his ears - please, not his eyes too! John's dad says he used to have the same problem when he was a kid and he grew out of it. Let's hope Caleb is the same as his Papa Bear. Once when Caleb was a little baby he had a clogged tear duct but it didn't last long at all. Hopefully it will go away on it's own again.

Caleb has had a hard couple of weeks! What's next?

4 comments:

catherine said...

hi there, i have been following your blog for quite some time. when i read about Caleb's tear duct, i wanted to let you know that my son also had a clogged tear duct for about 9 months (from 2 weeks old to 9 months old). the tear duct would get better and then become more clogged, and for about 2 weeks it was very clogged and the discharge was green and i had to wipe his eye the entire day with a wet cotton ball.

anyhow, our doctor told us to do the warm compress (which was impossible) and the massage (which was also impossible). however, the good news is that the tear duct did begin to function normally soon after.

i am hoping for the best with Caleb's tear duct and little ears. he is a very cute boy.

Brixie said...

Poor baby! Caleb is going to be the most resilient little guy! Life just keeps throwing him curve balls. Hang in there and hopefully this will pass on it's own too. When Brixie Lee went through this our doc said that massaging and compress didn't really do any good. That it was just something to tell parents so they felt they were doing something. Not sure if it's true, but I wouldn't stress too much if it's not working for you guys. Hugs, hugs, hugs!

Robin said...

Hey Kim, first give that handsome Caleb a kiss for me. So, Ethan had the same thing when he was about 3mnths, and I know hearing the word surgery just makes your heart drop into your stomach. For me the massaging was easier to do being he was 3mnths as opposed to an active 1yr old. Can you do it when he is sleeping? Anyway: So for a week I would massage the duct while also applying the warm cloth and thank God after that week it was gone. I read that very few cases lead to surgery so I will pray for the lil guy. Hugs and kisses.

N7 said...

:(
Caleb is getting a crown for being such a brave little mush. I am so sorry he has been going through so much- I wish there was something I could do for him/you- sprinkle some good health wishes on you or SOMETHING! It breaks my heart to know he has all this drame going on in his little life!!!!!