Treatment and timing of neonatal dacryocystitis

  The normal tear duct opens at the lower nasolacrimal duct at 8 months of embryonic life; by the time the baby is born, the tear duct is fully developed and open. As a result, the vast majority of babies are born with large, clear, bright eyes and normal tear drainage. Only about 6% of full-term infants have incomplete or abnormal lacrimal development during embryonic development, resulting in congenital lacrimal disease, the most common of which is the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct not yet fully developed, i.e., “congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction”, which prevents tears from flowing into the nasal cavity and causes tear overflow. When the tears and secretions in the tear sac storage, the baby will have a lot of mucous secretions overflow, and when the bacteria with the tear flow into the tear duct and in which the storage and reproduction, will form a dacryocystitis, the baby will overflow tears and a lot of purulent secretions storage and overflow.  Step 1: Conservative treatment is recommended first. Massage of the lacrimal sac area can remove the secretions stored in the lacrimal duct, and hopefully, through the pressure transmission of massage, the thin membrane blocking the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct will rupture on its own, the lacrimal duct will become clear, and the tear overflow will be better. When there is lacrimal sac inflammation with the local point with antibiotic eye solution, antibacterial anti-inflammatory, some of the children can be cured.  Step 2: If the symptoms are not relieved after a period of conservative treatment mentioned above, you can take your baby to the hospital. Some babies can be cured by flushing the film in the lower part of the nasolacrimal duct through pressurized tear duct flushing, but continuous flushing or long-term flushing is not recommended.  Step 3: If the above two methods of treatment are ineffective, babies over 6 months of age can go to the hospital to receive lacrimal duct exploration surgery, that is, the use of baby-specific lacrimal duct probes will be blocked in the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct film puncture, so that the lacrimal duct can be unblocked. Because the lacrimal ducts of babies within 6 months of age are delicate, they are prone to false ducts during the probing process.  The majority of newborns with lacrimal sacculitis can be cured by the above treatment, but there are very few children who cannot be cured by the above treatment due to bony lacrimal stenosis or obstruction, or even congenital absence of lacrimal ducts or some congenital diseases, and these complex lacrimal duct obstructions require more complex individualized lacrimal surgery by experienced doctors according to the condition and age of the child.