Tear Duct Massage

This is AMAZING. Zach developed a clogged tear duct soon after he was born. This basically just presents as an overly goopy eye. Tons of fun and can be devastating as a new mom when you just want your baby to look cute all the time (woah are you in for it).

My rudimentary understanding of it is just that sometimes, since the ducts are so small, they can get blocked and then clogged easily. Then the baby doesn’t get tears out to clean out the goop thus the goopy eye.

Generally the best way to deal with the goop once it’s there is a warm wash cloth. Be ginger because their delicate baby skin gets chapped around the eye easily so I have generally found and just lightly (extremely lightly) pressing the warm wash cloth against the eye and then slowly wiping outward (toward the ear) seems to work the best. You might have to get in there and slightly pull the eyelids apart if the baby is (being a pill) squinting.  I also would wipe at and pick the goop just with my (VERY clean) hands. This is the most delicate way to do it if the baby isn’t too squirmy.

All that being said, I have also discovered the miracle cure: TEAR DUCT MASSAGE! If you lightly press your index finger in the corner of the baby’s affected eye and then gently massage in an up and down motion it can work the clog out. I do about 10 up/down motions. Some sources say to do this many times a day (like at every diaper change) but I have, at the most, only done it twice a day and it clears up like a snap.