Lacrimal canal in an infant. Doctor Komarovsky about lacrimal canal massage in newborns

It happens, it happens that immediately after the birth of the child, pus begins to stand out from the eyes. This phenomenon is not very common, and it manifests itself in 1-5% of newborns. The main cause of this trouble is dacryocystitis of the newborn. In simple terms - inflammation of the lacrimal canal that connects the eye and nose of the child.

Signs of dacryocystitis are mucous, mucopurulent discharge from the eye with the formation of a slight swelling in the inner corner of the eye. In children who are born by caesarean section, obstruction of the lacrimal canal occurs slightly more often than in children born by natural childbirth.

Causes of obstruction of the lacrimal canal: incorrect position of the eye membrane; incomplete dissolution of embryonic tissue. This may also happen due to the fact that the gelatinous film, which during the intrauterine development of the child blocked the ingress of amniotic fluid, did not burst at his first breath. Then the baby's tears begin to accumulate in the lacrimal sac, and therefore, the child may develop an infection.

Signs that indicate that the child blockage of the tear duct, - during crying, the child does not produce tears. Very often pediatricians regard this as conjunctivitis. They prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs to the child, but in this case they will not help.

Also, mother's breast milk is not suitable for the treatment of this disease. And although it is believed that it is sterile and cannot bring infection into the eye, because of its high fat content, mother's milk is an excellent environment for the development of pathogenic microorganisms. Such treatment can lead to even worse results.

Distinctive symptoms of blockage of the lacrimal canal:

When you click on the zone of the lacrimal openings, the child develops a discharge of a mucopurulent type.
From the lacrimal sac there is an abundant discharge of purulent fluid that fills the palpebral fissure.

Treatment of dacryocystitis at home:

All discharge from the child's eyes should be wiped with a cotton swab dipped in warm water. You need to do this from the inner corner of the eye to the outer. A new cotton ball must be used for each eye and for each movement.
For washing eyelashes, in case of their gluing, use cotton balls soaked in water. Rinse from top to bottom. To soften the crust formed as a result of gluing the eyelids together, moistened cotton balls should be applied to them for several minutes.

If you are engaged in treatment at home, then you should definitely do this strictly under the supervision of a doctor. Also, as a treatment for a baby, therapeutic massage can be prescribed.

If after a course of such a massage, the lacrimal canal of the child remains unchanged, it may be prescribed lacrimal canal lavage. This procedure is absolutely safe and does not require inpatient treatment. The entire operation is performed in the ophthalmologist's office for 10 minutes.

Another way to treat this disease is probing of the lacrimal canal in children. The essence of the operation is to pierce the film of the lacrimal ducts using the Sichel probe and clean the lacrimal canal with the Bowman probe. After probing, the child is prescribed a massage to prevent relapse. The child will not have complications after such an operation if you seek help from an experienced specialist and strictly follow all his instructions after the operation.

Even in the maternity hospital, and then at home during the first visit, the pediatrician will tell and show the young mother how to care for a newborn baby. These are simple and even pleasant manipulations that must be repeated every day. And it all starts with a morning wash...

One day, a mother may notice that the child's eyes are sour. Some will not attach due importance to this, while others, on the contrary, are very worried. Of course, such a phenomenon should not be left without your attention, but you do not need to be afraid: dacryocystitis is not so rare in newborn babies.

What is dacryocystitis?

Human tears perform a number of important physiological functions that many of us are unaware of. In particular, a tear, moistening the eyeball, moisturizes it, nourishes it with the necessary substances and even disinfects, protecting it from pathological microorganisms. After the tear has performed its function, it must somehow exit the eye. For this, there are lacrimal ducts: lacrimal openings, lacrimal tubules, lacrimal sac and lacrimal-nasal canal.

While the child is in the womb, the lacrimal ducts remain closed with a gelatin-like film specially formed for this. It protects the respiratory tract of the fetus from the likely ingress of fluid into them. With the first breath and the cry of a newborn child, this film breaks, opening the lacrimal canal. But for some reason, this does not happen in all cases, and then doctors talk about congenital dacryocystitis, or, in other words, obstruction of the lacrimal canal.

Dacryocystitis can be acquired, secondary, that is, it can develop in older children and even adults. However, the reason for such a violation always lies in other reasons: conjunctivitis or protracted rhinitis preceding dacryocystitis, in the formation of tumors, injuries, in age-related changes, etc., that is, dacryocystitis develops as a complication of other diseases.

Obstruction of the lacrimal canal: symptoms

So, if the septum remains intact and the lacrimal canal continues to be closed to the secreted fluid, then the baby's tears accumulate in the lacrimal sac - and stagnation forms. The eyes of a newborn (or one) may water all the time because of this. But since the humid environment is very favorable for the development of microbes, and there are a lot of them in the inhaled air, soon an infection begins to develop in this lacrimal "lake" - an inflammatory process is underway. At this stage, dacryocystitis is already accompanied by the release of pus from the eye (the eyes turn sour, fester). It is often possible to make sure that it is the obstruction of the lacrimal canal in a newborn by pressing on the area where the lacrimal sac is located (in the upper part of the nose, on the side) or the lacrimal openings (outer corner of the eye): with dacryocystitis, a tear will be released from the eye due to pressure. purulent liquid.

If such a situation is left without proper attention and the necessary treatment is not carried out, the process may worsen.

It happens that parents turn to a specialist with dacryocystitis at the age of a child of 2-3 years. Even if the defect is eliminated and treated, it will not be possible to fully restore the functions of the lacrimal sac, because for such a long time it has lost its natural elasticity and has become flabby (the walls of the sac are normally constantly contracting, pushing out the tear, that is, it works like a “micropump”). "). To prevent an unfavorable outcome and complications, the obstruction of the lacrimal canal must be treated.

Obstruction of the lacrimal canal: treatment

Some doctors are sure that treatment of dacryocystitis should be started as early as possible. Others believe that it is impossible to rush and that the most favorable period for this is 2-3 months of age.

We are talking about different methods of treatment at different stages of dacryocystitis. And this should be stopped and told in more detail. There is a fairly high probability that the septum that did not burst at birth will resolve itself during the first days of the child's life, and therefore no action is taken during this period. But if the symptoms of obstruction of the lacrimal canal appeared later, then the baby should certainly be shown to a specialist and treated for dacryocystitis.

How to do massage with obstruction of the lacrimal canal

So, when detecting discharge from the eyes of a baby, parents should show the crumbs to a pediatric ophthalmologist. He will probably conduct a West test (for an accurate diagnosis), select suitable eye drops for a small patient and show mom and dad how to massage the eye in order to avoid piercing the very film that prevents the normal outflow of tear fluid.

It's very simple and not scary at all. Pre-wash and cut off the nails on the finger that you will massage, right up to the very fingertip, that is, “under the root”. Lay your baby on the changing table or whatever you feel comfortable with. Drop one drop of the prescribed medicine into the inner corner of the eye, wait about a minute and start massaging. With one hand, hold the baby's head, and with the little finger of the other, massage the corner of the eye with a light gentle pressure.

In no case should you put pressure on the eyeball! Massage only the corner - the lacrimal point, making jerky movements in a downward direction. At the end of the procedure, the eye should be washed with a cotton pad soaked in saline, in a decoction of chamomile, calendula or freshly brewed tea. Movements must always be made in the direction from the outer corner of the eye to the inner.

Do not worry about the fact that the baby will dodge and cry. After all, he does not understand what is happening to him, he may not like something, but there is no danger in this for him. Try to do everything calmly, affectionately, talk to the baby, stroke her head.

The duration and number of procedures, as well as the use of drugs before, during and after the procedure, will be determined by the ophthalmologist. Usually, the lacrimal canal is massaged several times a day for several weeks.

Probing for obstruction of the lacrimal canal

If the correct and regular massage of the lacrimal canal did not lead to the desired result (that is, the patency of the lacrimal canals has not been restored) or if the condition with dacryocystitis is already running, then about two months or until the age of three months the child needs to be probed lacrimal canal. It is during this period that the newborn begins to actively produce tears (if you notice, then up to 2-3 months the babies cry dry), and therefore oculists consider it the most favorable for this procedure.

Probing the nasolacrimal canal is an unpleasant and painful procedure for a child, but it is quite effective and is performed under local anesthesia.

The doctor inserts a direct probe into the lacrimal canaliculus of the baby, expands it, then, using a special probe, breaks the films in the nasolacrimal canal. In order to avoid the formation of adhesions after the probing procedure, it is also necessary to massage the lacrimal canal and bury the eyes with drops.

If the cause of dacryocystitis in a child is a congenital physiological pathology of the lacrimal ducts, then only surgical treatment is required, but the operation in such cases is performed no earlier than 5-6 years of age.

Especially for - Margarita SOLOVIEVA

Almost immediately after birth, a child often has a purulent discharge from the eyes. One of the reasons for such discharge can be dacryocystitis in newborns, in other words, the inflammatory process of the lacrimal sac. The main signs of this disease are mucopurulent or mucous discharge from the eye, a slight swelling in the inner corner of the eye.

Tears play an important role for the proper functioning of the organs of vision in humans - this is for the eyes. Tears help keep the necessary moisture of the eyeballs, they are the protection for their surface from small particles of dirt and dust. After the tears have spread on the surface of the eyeballs, they are deflected from the eyes through the nasal cavity along the tear ducts. In an infant, he may have obstruction in one or both eyes.

But what then is the reason that it becomes impassable, if mother nature has planned otherwise?.. During the intrauterine development of the baby, a special gelatinous film blocks the ingress of amniotic fluid. The moment the baby lets out the first cry at birth, at the first breath, this film bursts. In the event that this does not happen, the tears of the crumbs begin to gradually accumulate in a special bag, and an infection may form there. Also, the reason for this may be the incorrect position of the membrane or the embryonic tissue does not completely resolve.

The main signs of obstruction are the presence of discharge, the flow of tears from the cavity of the eye when the baby does not cry, tearing. Quite often, pediatricians regard this as conjunctivitis, while prescribing anti-inflammatory drugs, but such treatment will not help.

Therefore, it would be more correct to contact a pediatric oculist.

Distinctive symptoms of dacryocystitis are mucopurulent type of discharge, when you click on the zone of points.

The main clinical sign of the chronic course of the process is an abundant purulent discharge of fluid from the lacrimal sac, which completely fills the palpebral fissure, usually after crying or sleeping.

After you have accurately established the diagnosis, you should immediately begin treatment. Most likely, you will be prescribed a special massage as a treatment. But first, get acquainted with the anatomy of the tear ducts, the projection of the "bag". Before starting the massage, wash your hands well, make your nails as short as possible, you can use sterile gloves.

Massage scheme for obstruction:

1. Gently squeeze out the liquid.

2. Drop a warm furatsilin solution 1 to 5000 into the sore eye and remove the purulent discharge with a sterile cotton swab.

3. Make a massage in the area of special "bags". The purpose of this massage is to break through the gelatinous film. Massage of the lacrimal canal is carried out with several vibrating or jerky movements of the finger with slight pressure, the direction of which is from top to bottom, from the inner corner of the upper part of the eye to the bottom. Due to the pressure created, the embryonic film breaks through.

4. Drop the eye with disinfectant drops: levomycetin 0.25% or Vitabact.

5. These procedures should be carried out up to 5 times a day.

Tubular massage should be done for at least two weeks. It should be taken into account that by 3-4 months the child's gelatinous film breaks through or resolves itself, provided that the parents carefully and correctly follow the above instructions.

Remember that only a doctor can show the massage of the lacrimal canal as correctly as possible.

Additional Information:

1. Massage must be done at the moment when your child begins to cry angrily. Since the whole mechanism lies in the fact that while the baby is crying, everything is in tension, and it will not be difficult to break through the gelatin plug with a massage.

2. When doing a massage of the lacrimal canal, you need to be extremely careful (the younger the child, the more carefully massage), because babies do not have an educated bone in the "bosoms" of the nose, there is just a delicate cartilage.

3. Dacryocystitis in an infant is a very dangerous disease for children under one year old. Since pus is located in the brain area

4. Watch for pus flowing from the eye so that it does not get into the ear or other eye.

5. The older the child is, the more painful this procedure is, as the gelatinous plug becomes denser.

There is an opinion that massage of the lacrimal sac, when the infant's canal is in a state of obstruction, is quite effective. But experience shows the opposite. The “effect” of massage is possible with an erroneous obstruction of the paths, which sometimes accompanies conjunctivitis.

If the lacrimal canal of the baby remained unchanged after a special massage, then you will need to do probing. Having identified any diseases, it is wiser to treat immediately. Since prolonged massage and retraction of probing often leads to complications. The older the child becomes, the more difficult it is to completely cure the obstruction of the ways. The best age for a child to have a tear duct probing is three to four months.

In the event that these manipulations did not lead to the desired result, then it is required to carry out probing in the setting of an eye cabinet. Probing is a relatively simple operation, which consists in piercing the film. After you have undergone probing, you must definitely do a massage for the first week in order to prevent relapse, which is associated with the formation of an adhesive process.

You will not observe the effectiveness of probing only in those situations where the occurrence of dacryocystitis is determined by other reasons, such as deviated nasal septum, pathology of the development of the nasal and lacrimal canals, etc. These children require the most complex surgical intervention, which is performed no earlier than six years.

And our article proved once again that the disease is easier to predict than to treat. Well, if treated, then with full responsibility, patience and hope for a full and quick recovery. Good health to you!!!

In the first few days after the birth of the baby, his crying is not accompanied by the release of tears. And this is the norm. But, their absence after 2 to 3 weeks should force parents to contact a specialist who will find out the reason. Indeed, in most cases, obstruction of the lacrimal canal in newborns is manifested in this way.

From this article you will learn

What is lacrimal duct obstruction and what are its causes

Obstruction of the lacrimal duct (dacryocystitis) is an inflammatory process that affects the lacrimal sac, the region of the eyeball and around it. The main cause of dacryocystitis lies in the film that protects the nasolacrimal canal of the fetus in the womb.

During the first cry of the baby after birth, it does not burst, but remains in place. This leads to the fact that tears cannot come out and accumulate in the lacrimal sac, along with bacteria that contribute to the appearance of the inflammatory process. Hence the redness, swelling of the eyes, which appears when the lacrimal canal is obstructed.

Knowing the structure of the nasolacrimal canal, you can eliminate the cause by contacting a doctor for help, who will prescribe an effective treatment. And before proceeding to eliminate them, you should understand why this is happening. Causes of dacryocystitis can be as follows:

Congenital obstruction. It is characterized by a high density of the mucous membrane. In the event that after 2-3 months after the birth of the baby, his condition does not normalize, the film does not resolve on its own, it is necessary to resort to the bougienage procedure.
The blockage can be caused by an infection in the lacrimal sac.
Pathology associated with the fact that the nasal bone continues to grow and form. Due to this, it puts pressure on the lacrimal canal, blocking it.
The formation of a tumor of the face or nose, cysts in the duct.

How does it manifest

It is quite difficult to determine the presence of obstruction of the lacrimal canal in a baby in the first weeks of his life, because it does not manifest itself in any way. But a little later, with the advent of tears, the first symptoms appear.

Most parents do not pay enough attention to them, assuming that it is all about conjunctivitis. After all, the symptoms of these two diseases are very similar. But in the case of dacryocystitis, the use of antibiotic drops helps to eliminate the symptoms only for the duration of their use.

An impassable lacrimal canal appears, as a rule, only in one eye, less often simultaneously in two. Symptoms may be as follows:

Copious flow of tears, due to which the child's eyes regularly remain moist.
In the corner of the eye, discharge of a gray or yellowish color is collected. When they dry out, they turn into a crust that gives the baby discomfort, gluing the cilia after sleep.
There is swelling and redness of the eyelids.
In advanced cases, pus can be released from the eyes, the baby feels pain, with light pressure on the nose.

Noticing that the baby has become capricious, refuses to sleep, eat, he has the symptoms listed above, you should show him to the doctor as soon as possible.

Having diagnosed dacryocystitis, as well as finding out the cause of its appearance, he will prescribe treatment. It is not worth it to independently engage in the establishment of a diagnosis, the selection of medicines.

Treatment

In order for the baby to recover as quickly as possible, the symptoms that accompany such a state of the body cease to cause discomfort, the treatment must be effective and timely. It can come down to:

Massage.
I close my eyes.
Probing.

The best method by which the tear ducts can be brought into proper condition is massage. It, like other methods of treatment, should be prescribed by a doctor who will clearly demonstrate to parents the technique of execution. Having mastered it, you can perform the treatment procedure at home.

For newborns, massage is the most harmless and painless procedure. It is necessary to carry it out when the baby is in a good mood. Do not forget about hygiene. Therefore, you can start the massage only with clean hands and short nails. The following photo will help to clearly explain how it should be carried out.

The sequence of the massage is as follows:

The child's eyes are washed with a decoction of chamomile or a solution of furacilin. This must be done from the outer corner of the eye to the inner.
After clearing the eyes of pus, index fingers are placed in the area of the corners of the eyes, while their pads should be directed to the bridge of the nose.
With sharp, but not very rough movements, pressure is made with the fingertips from the starting point to the tip of the nose. For one procedure, the pressures performed should be on average about 10. If tears or pus come out of the eyes during the massage, this indicates that a positive result will soon follow.
After the massage, the eyes are buried. When choosing drops, preference is given to those that do not crystallize. These drops provide an additional barrier to the release of tear fluid.

Massage is aimed at breaking through the film and contributing to its speedy disappearance. As a rule, its proper implementation leads to the elimination of the problem after 2 weeks. If there is still no improvement, then it must be solved surgically.

Sounding is a surgical procedure, the duration of which is no more than 10 minutes. It is carried out under local anesthesia and does not cause pain to the small patient.

The procedure begins with the fact that the specialist instills the baby's eyes with drops, which are local anesthesia, expands the channels and breaks through the film with a probe, then cleans the channel.

For this, a saline solution and a disinfectant are used. In order to preserve the result of the procedure, to prevent re-narrowing of the canal, the doctor prescribes a massage lasting a week.

You should not refuse the probing procedure prescribed by the doctor, as well as delay it. The fact is that the film will become rougher over time, and its removal will require more effort. Therefore, the optimal age for probing is the period from 3 to 6 months.

Preventive measures

No matter how hard the parents try, unfortunately, it is not in their power to completely protect the child from all kinds of diseases, including obstruction of the lacrimal canal.

Yes, and there is no special prevention from dacryocystitis, because it is a pathology with which the baby is born. But, it is possible to prevent its complicated course. For this you need:

Pay due attention to the hygiene of the baby.
Engage in timely and correct treatment of diseases affecting the eyes (conjunctivitis, sinusitis).
Avoid placing the child in a strong wind, frost, under the scorching sun.

The most important advice for parents who are faced with this problem is not to delay in identifying the causes and eliminating them. After all, in addition to the fact that it gives the baby discomfort, there is a high probability of manifestation of complications. It is not worth bringing to this, because the health of the child is the most important thing.

Many babies in the first days of life are faced with the problem of constant purulent discharge from the eye, which is called dacryocystitis or obstruction of the lacrimal canal. This is at least one of the most common causes that stimulates inflammation of the lacrimal sacs of the eyes in infants.

Causes of obstruction of the lacrimal canals

There is a standard scheme for the movement of tear fluid in the human body. The tear is formed in the eye, after which it is sent to the tear ducts, which lead it to the nasal cavity. What are the components of the tear ducts?

Upper lacrimal opening;
lower lacrimal opening;
superior lacrimal canal;
lower lacrimal canal;
Lacrimal sac;
The passage of the lacrimal-nasal destination, which is located at the bottom of the inferior nasal concha. Since the air moves in the nose of a person during his breathing, getting here, the tear fluid gradually evaporates. This passage is located approximately one and a half or two centimeters from the external opening of the nose.

The back wall of the nasal cavity is combined with the upper part of the human pharynx, which is called the nasopharynx. At a time when the baby is in the mother's womb, his nasolacrimal passage is protected from the influence of amniotic fluid, using a special plug or film, which is formed from gelatin. When the baby leaves the mother's womb and takes its first breath, as well as the first time it screams, this protection breaks and stops, leaving the fluid passage free.

If, at the birth of a baby, the protection of the channel does not break, then lacrimal fluid begins to accumulate in the lacrimal sac, which stimulates the development of infection. It is this infection that forms dacryocystitis in newborns, which can take a chronic or acute form.

Signs of the onset of dacryocystitis

Usually, the disease makes itself felt in the first weeks of a baby's life, manifesting itself with initial symptoms. Outwardly, the symptoms are slightly similar to conjunctivitis: from the corners of the eyes, mucous discharge of a purulent nature begins to stand out. They can appear both in one eye and immediately in both eyes of the baby. Also, the child's eyes constantly have tears, and in some cases there is a constant flow of tears, which is accompanied by slightly reddish conjunctiva. Sometimes doctors themselves can mistakenly take the obstruction of the lacrimal canal for conjunctivitis.

Symptoms of dacryocystitis

In order to check the baby for the presence of a lacrimal obstruction, it is necessary to slightly press on the location of the lacrimal sac. If the baby is sick, then through the lower or upper lacrimal opening, mucous masses of a purulent nature will begin to stand out. If before such manipulations, the baby has already undergone medical treatment, then there may be no discharge. To make a guaranteed diagnosis, pediatricians analyze a special, collarhead test. Collargol- This is a special solution that has a coloring effect. It is this solution, with a consistency of three percent you should drip into the baby's eyes, one drop in each. Before starting instillation, cotton swabs should be placed in the baby's nostrils. If, after the solution was dripped into the eyes, within five minutes a shade of this solution appeared on a cotton swab, then the result of the analysis is positive. If the coloring matter appeared on the cotton wool during the interval six to twenty minutes, then this is perceived as a delayed test, but when the result appears after twenty minutes, we can confidently talk about a negative indicator.

Also, such an analysis is perceived as positive when the baby's eyeball is enlightened three minutes after the solution has been dropped into the eyes. If during the analysis a negative value of the indicators was obtained, therefore, the patency of the lacrimal canals is impaired, however, on the basis of analyzes alone, it is impossible to say what nature these violations are and how affected the lacrimal passage is. For complete information, see an otolaryngologist. Given that the canal is not only lacrimal, but also nasal, a common cold can affect the overall picture. During even the mildest manifestation of a runny nose, the mucous membrane of the lacrimal passage swells, the passage itself narrows and it is more difficult for tears to find their way out.

- This is a serious disease that must be determined at the earliest stage, otherwise complications may be encountered. Suppose there is such a disease as phlegmon, which leads to a significant increase in the body temperature of the baby, causing a constant restless state and nervousness of the child. If you do not pay attention to this process again, or do not recognize the disease in time, a fistula of the lacrimal sac may appear.

Chronic obstruction of the lacrimal canal in newborns

The chronic form of dacryocystitis involves regular and abundant discharge of a purulent nature or lacrimal sac of an infant. Moreover, the number of masses is so large that it can completely fill the entire gap of the child's eye. Most often this happens after the baby wakes up, or after crying. If a baby is diagnosed with chronic dacryocystitis, this means that it is urgent to start treatment, since the disease cannot be started. In order to understand the very essence of the disease, it is better to get acquainted with the anatomical data regarding the placement and functioning of the lacrimal passages.

The most recommended method of dealing with chronic obstruction is considered to be massage of the lacrimal canal. Before proceeding, you need to cut your nails as much as possible so as not to injure the baby, wash your hands with disinfectants, and put on special gloves that are sold as sterile.

On the first step you should press on the lacrimal sac, not too hard, but so that all purulent accumulations and other fluid collected in it gradually come out. This should be done until the bag is completely empty.

Second step- this is the instillation of a special medication in order to extract from the baby's eye all the secretions that have been squeezed out. For this, cotton wool and furatsilin are usually used, which is sold in a solution with a consistency of one to five thousand.

Next comes directly lacrimal canal massage . It consists in successive pressures of the index finger, which should imitate light pushes in the direction from the bottom to the top. The purpose of such movements is to break the plug of gelatinosis, which did not break through to the end at the birth of the baby.

The next step is to disinfect baby's eyes using special drops. For example, you can purchase a solution of chloramphenicol, with a consistency of 0.25 percent, or drops called Vitabact.

Such procedures should be performed at least four times a day, daily, for two weeks in a standard situation. If the disease is advanced, then the treatment period may be longer. If we study the results of expert research, we can say that the cork from gelatinous can either dissolve on its own or burst. This happens around the age of three or four months, according to statistics, but this is the case when all the doctor's prescriptions are followed, regular massage and eye drops are performed.

There are cases when one massage and instillation is not enough, and you have to turn to other, more serious methods. One of them is probing of the lacrimal canal with obstruction, which is performed in a specialized office of the eye office. This process is not safe, it is very painful, and it is considered a rather difficult procedure for a small child.

First of all, local anesthesia is needed so that the baby is not too painful. After that, the lacrimal openings and canals are expanded with the help of a Sichel probe, where another probe of greater length is then inserted up to the lacrimal canal itself. It is this probe that breaks the film, which is the cause of the obstruction. After the procedure, it is necessary to rinse with a special solution to disinfect the canals.

After the probing of the lacrimal duct has been performed, it still remains necessary to carry out regular massage of the passage for seven days. This will protect the baby from the return of the disease and the beginning of the adhesion process in the canals.

Not always the cause of dacryocystitis is insufficient rupture of the plug, sometimes it can be other reasons: any anomalies in the development of the lacrimal nasal passages, damage to the nasal septum, and others. In this case, neither massage nor probing will have any effect. You will need to wait until the baby is at least five years old in order to perform an operation to correct the channels, which is called dacryocystyrhinostomy.

Basic information about the disease.

The frequency of development of dacryocystitis in babies is not so great - no more than five percent of babies are ill. The basis of the disease itself is the inflammatory process that takes place in the lacrimal sac of the baby. You can determine the disease immediately after the birth of the child, so the child receives his diagnosis without leaving the hospital. What causes the development of obstruction in most cases:

Pathological changes in the nasal cavity or tissues that occur due to trauma or inflammation;
A film of gelatinous that did not dissolve before the baby was born, or did not break through with the baby's first breath and cry.

With the normal development of the child, the patency of the channels that connect the lacrimal streams and the nasal cavity are formed in the baby when he is still in the womb, at about the eighth month. All previous months of development, the opening of the lacrimal passage is blocked with a thin film, a membrane.

In most babies, this septum ruptures during the first cry and breath, and in some it gradually disappears even before birth. But if neither one nor the other happens, then the film remains and interferes with the process of tear drainage, forming obstruction of the channels. How the transferred dacryocystitis will affect the health of the baby in the future determines the timeliness of diagnosing the disease and the correctness of the treatment methods that were used to rid the baby of the disease.

Symptoms of channel obstruction begin with mucous discharge from the baby's eyes, which sometimes have a purulent character. Also, the baby's eye swells slightly in the area of \u200b\u200bthe inner corners. Even the doctors themselves have repeatedly taken dacryocystitis for conjunctivitis, while prescribing treatment with anti-inflammatory drops, which does not bring visible results.

In order to distinguish conjunctivitis from dacryocystitis , you should lightly press on the lacrimal openings of the baby. If you see the appearance of mucopurulent masses, this is a manifestation of obstruction of the lacrimal canals.

It is recommended to start treatment of this disease with regular massage exercises, which must be repeated up to five times a day. These exercises are aimed at breaking the film that prevents the passage of tears. When massaging, you should use your index finger, making pushing movements with slight vibration, and at the same time lightly pressing. Direction - from the upper region of the corner, which is located inside the eye, to the lower. Thus, the pressure in the nasal passages increases, which may well stimulate the rupture of the plug.

The number of repetitions of massage in one day can reach up to ten times, in order to increase efficiency. Even if at first you do not see any results, and the signs of the disease remain, you should not stop massage exercises for another month. After the massage, purulent accumulations will be released from the lacrimal sac, which must be wiped with a special cotton swab. It is better to moisten cotton wool with a solution of chamomile beforehand, you can use calendula or tea leaves.

In some cases, massage does not have the desired effect, and the disease does not go away. In this case, you should contact a specialist and carry out a complex procedure in his office, which is called canal probing. In order to carry out probing, it is still better to wait until the baby is at least two or three months old, since the procedure is very painful and dangerous.

Before proceeding directly to the procedure, preparatory analyzes will be required. It is necessary to check the baby's blood for the level of coagulation, and in order for the cause of dacryocystitis to be clearly established, it must be examined by an otolaryngologist.

After the specialist conducts probing, it is necessary to regularly bury the child's eyes for a week, which ones the doctor will indicate. Also, in order for dacryocystitis or obstruction of the lacrimal canal in newborns not to recur, it is advised to perform massage exercises for another month, stimulating the lacrimal canals.