Yucky eye

Have been told Bianca has a blocked tear duct, her eye is a bit yucky - maily when she gets upset - was told to wash in warm salty water - did this for awhile and didnt seem to work, and it also dried up her skin around her eye - so im just using warm water.
She has had it for over a week now and it still hasnt fully cleared up!
Doctor isnt back from holidays yet so can't see him.
Has anyone else's little one had this and did they do anything differently to clear it up?
should it be gone by now?
How would i know if it was anything else?

You need to be really persistent with the saline or even breastmilk if you are feeding her (cause it's also sterile), but keep an eye on it ask it may be blocked and need further treatment from your GP to clear it.

Thanks Trillian - i prob havent been as persistent as i should be with it!
And i heard about using breastmilk! unfortunally im not breastfeeding :(

That's ok if you're not, it's just another alternative to saline. With my first, he had a mucky eye till he was nearly 4 months and I got so sick of cleaning it all the time, but I had one week where I was doing it all the time - as soon as I would see some gunk, and it paid off and he never had an issue again, but I don't know if he had a blocked duct or not, sometimes they just have gunky eyes without it being blocked. If the saline isn't working, I would take her back to your GP.

the earliest i can see my gp is the 7th jan - so hopefully it will be better by than! it dosent seem to be bothering her tho so hopefully its nothing too bad!
Thank you for ur help tho!

My gf has the same thing happen to her little one just recently, she went to the chemist and there was some sort of solution she could use as well, different to saline. If you are worried before you can get to see your Dr maybe pop in to the chemist and have a chat. :hug: Hope shes better soon.

DD had it too, we did the saline, breastmilk and massaged the area, didnt clear up til the 6 month mark when she was on AB's for an ear infection!

oh no not 6mths of yucky eye!!!!! poor bubba! good thing she is not worried about her looks yet - hahahaha
i might pop into chemist and see what they say!

Lots of good advice here from the girls, be persistent. Lots of gentle massage as well can help open the duct and allow the secretions from the eye to drain.

Eva has this problem too, on and off for months. It frustrated me to no end! Because although the Dr said it wasn't conjuntivitis, some times it looked like it was, and a couple of times it did develop into it. I would frequently bathe her eye in saline, or breastmilk, and when it got worse I would treat with antibiotic eye drops (which are a pain when bubs learns to squeeze eye shut in anticipation!). Eventually I asked for the antibiotic ointment (which is a bit stronger), and at 8 months of age it seemed to finally fix the issue, and she hasn't had weepy eyes since!

I too would say to persist with bathing her eye frequently, but also take her back to the Dr if its still not clearing up.
Good luck.

My DS had this problem for weeks. I was going to suggest squirting breastmilk into the eyes as that's what fixed it for us but obviously if you're not breastfeeding that's not possible! We also used saline and cotton wool regularly. I agree with the others - be vigilant and keep doing it for a few days even after it seems to have cleared up. We were told to make sure you use fresh cotton wool for each eye and wipe from inside out. Don't get too much saline around the outside of the eye as it can irritate the skin. Also, massaging can help. Good luck!

Thanks everyone!
With the massaging is it around the eye or do u lightly do it on the eye lid?

I did it from the bridge of the nose, towards the eye and tear duct, and then from the nostril up to the tear duct, and from the outer edge of the eye and followed the eye socket up to the tear duct. HTH

massage the soft bit between the nose and the eye.

also wipe away from the duct and not towards it. as that will keep the blockage or infection in the duct.

another trick i found with tay was a light cotton ball with the warm saline and just holding it gently on the eye for 5 min then wiping it away.

also crying helps clean it out so i know its tough but let them cry a bit each day.

my little ones duct was so blocked she didnt have tears for a few weeks till it loosened up.
she is all good now tho

Thanks Leasha and kellz on the massaging tips

When B cries it makes it worse - but yeh i will leave her cry for a bit and see how that goes also

Just thought i would let you all know that Bianca's eye has cleared up completly - thank you all so very much for your help!