Question
My baby is just two months old. Since one month, the left eye has had eye boogers, which come back soon after wiping them away. Even without eye boogers, there is always watery eyes in the orbital area. The other eye does not have this problem and looks normal. Now one eye is larger than the other, which is very painful to watch. I don’t know what kind of disease this is? What should I be careful about?
Answer
This is generally likely due to incomplete development of the lacrimal duct or chronic dacryocystitis, and there’s no need to worry too much about it. When there are eye boogers, you can use symptomatic anti-inflammatory medication. It’s best to suggest massaging your child’s outer corner of the eye to help the growth and development of the lacrimal duct. If there is still no improvement around three months, you may need to go to the hospital for lacrimal duct irrigation to confirm the diagnosis and treatment, or consider probing. Most cases can heal on their own, and the chances of massage being effective are quite high. If it really doesn’t work, surgery may be necessary, and this would depend on the situation.