The best time to treat nasolacrimal duct obstruction in infants is 2 to 6 months.
When the baby is still a fetus, there is a mucous membrane wrinkle at the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct, and the membrane disappears before birth. If this membrane tissue is still not ruptured about 4 weeks after the baby is born, the nasolacrimal duct of the newborn is blocked, which is manifested as the symptom that both eyes are tearful even when they are not usually crying, or one is tearful and the other is tearless, and accompanied by an increase in ocular secretion.
Infants younger than 6 months of age may heal on their own, at which point conservative treatments can be used. You can start by massaging, using the belly of the index finger to press the inner corner of the eye, from the top from the tear duct down the bridge of the nose, massage 3 to 4 times a day, the purpose is to massage the internal pressure generated by the end of the nasolacrimal duct membrane will be propped open. Therefore, the best time to treat nasolacrimal duct obstruction in infants is 2 to 6 months.
Parents are reminded that children between 6 months and 1 year old have less chance of improving their symptoms on their own, so they can follow the doctor’s instructions to use active treatments, such as lacrimal sac lavage, tear duct probing, etc., and if necessary, lacrimal sac nasolacrimal anastomosis, to improve the symptoms of nasolacrimal duct obstruction.