Festering eyes of the newborn

Most newborns begin to water for three weeks. These tears should flow into the nose through the tiny tear ducts in the inner corners of the eyes. In the first few weeks or months, you can mark yellow, sticky discharge from one or both eyes. Usually they are caused by a blockage of the tear duct. At birth, going into the nasal cavity, the ends of these tubules, called the tear ducts, are sometimes closed by a thin membrane, which is usually broken right after birth, providing a normal outflow of tears. It often happens that this membrane is not broken completely, so the tear ducts remain sealed and tears accumulate in one or both eyes. In a fluid that does not flow properly, pathogenic microorganisms multiply. In this case, the discharge from your child's eyes will be invariably yellow, indicating inflammation in the area of ​​the overlapped lacrimal ducts.

Here's how to open your baby's tear-nasal duct. Carefully massage the tear duct, located under a tiny "tubercle" in the inner corner of the eye, near the nose. Massage in the upward direction( towards the nose) approximately six times. Do this massage as often as you will remember it - for example, before each diaper change. When the tear duct is massaged, there is pressure on the fluid that has accumulated in the duct, and eventually the membrane that clogs it opens and the duct opens.

If you continue to notice that one or both eyes are constantly watery or have yellow discharge, during a child's checkup, ask your doctor to instruct you about how to massage the tear ducts. If you still have yellow discharge, your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic ointment or drops to treat this inflammation.

The blockage of the lacrimal ducts may recur from time to time, but usually they remain open to six months. Sometimes this conservative treatment does not give results, and at the age between six and nine months there is a need for the optician to open these ducts by inserting the finest wire in them. Usually this time-consuming procedure is performed right in the office, but an outpatient operation under general anesthesia may be required. Suppuration of the eye in the first few months is almost always caused by blockage of the tear-nasal ducts;in a child older than

, discharge from the eyes can be caused by eye inflammation, conjunctivitis, or more often due to inflammation of the ear and sinuses.(See Conjunctivitis.)

Red Stripes

Immediately after birth, you may notice a red streak on the protein of one eye of the child or on both proteins. Do not worry! This is called conjunctival hemorrhage and is caused by the fact that blood vessels burst during birth from compression. This does not harm the child's eyes and disappears within a few weeks.