Fitness and healthy lifestyle 

5 month old baby has no tears. When babies have tears. When there are no tears

For newly-made parents, the appearance of a baby in the family is a big holiday, so the first days are filled with immense happiness.

But after a while, parents begin to look closely at their child and notice that there are no tears.

Experts say that crying for a newborn baby is a special means of communication with the outside world. Thus, he wants to express himself and attract the attention of others.

The first days after birth, the baby will not smile from communicating with mom or dad, because when smiling, the facial muscles are involved, which begin to be controlled by the subcortex of the brain only a week after birth.

When a baby starts crying, the facial muscles begin to change unconsciously. Tears in this process act as a concomitant reaction to a change in the muscular corset of the face.

In newborns in the first month of life, systems and organs are actively developing. However, they do not occur at the same time, so for some time mothers may notice that the child is crying, but tears do not drip from the eyes.

The tear ducts begin to function only after a month and a half of age. In some cases, the first tears can be seen even three weeks after birth, it all depends on the individual development of the baby.

The absence of tears in the first time after birth is due to the physiological structure of the body. When the baby is inside the womb, he does not need tears, since the amniotic fluid fully performs their function. The tear ducts begin to function only after a certain time after the birth of the baby.

Appearance of the first tears

Note to new parents. In a newborn baby, they should appear immediately in both eyes at the same time. If tears come from only one eye, this is a signal that the second tear duct cannot function, for example, due to suppuration, a narrow channel, or its dysfunction. In this situation, it is necessary to consult an ophthalmologist to find out the cause.

Closing plugs of the tear ducts, which are clogged in newborns, completely resolve within a few weeks, and by 1-2 months of life, tears begin to flow into the eyes.

The first tears can be both plentiful and meager. Just a couple of drops can roll down the baby's cheek. For the first appearance of tears, any volume is normal.

If the baby is already more than two months old, and tears have not appeared when crying, this is a cause for concern and contacting a specialist.

Today, several methods are used to normalize the activity of the lacrimal canals:

  • use of medication drops
  • medicinal
  • use of folk recipes
  • surgical intervention

If the plugs in the lacrimal ducts have not disappeared, they must be softened to speed up the process. For this purpose, special eye drops are used, but only as directed by a doctor. On your own, you can use an infusion of chamomile or a weak infusion of black tea, gently rubbing the baby's eyes twice a day.

Another effective way to clear the lacrimal canals in a baby is a special massage. How to do massage will show the attending physician. To release the tear ducts, the child is prescribed massage from 3 to 10 times a day, the maximum duration is 2 minutes. Massage should be carried out with clean hands, in circular motions in the outer corners of the eyes.

In the inner corner of the eye, everyone has a small tubercle, it is necessary to massage the area under this tubercle with circular movements without pressure. For a child, this is a painless procedure. During the massage of the lacrimal ducts, there is a mechanical effect on the accumulated tears, which, moving along the lacrimal duct, begin to put pressure on the cork, gradually squeezing it out.

As practice shows, after 4-5 days after the start of the massage, the activity of the lacrimal ducts is restored and the child can already cry on his own.

In especially severe cases, if neither massage nor massage has positive results, surgical intervention may be required.

Baby eye care

Until the baby has fully adjusted the process of cleansing lacrimation, this function will be entrusted to the parents. During hygiene procedures in the evening and morning, it is necessary to carefully examine.

When washing, it is necessary to additionally clean each eye with boiled water. To do this, use cotton swabs soaked in warm boiled water. It is necessary to clean the eye in the direction from the temple. A separate cotton swab should be used for each eye.

To wipe the eyes, you can use herbal infusions, but only if the doctor allows it. Chamomile infusion is a good antiseptic.

A teaspoon of crushed chamomile flowers must be poured with a glass of boiling water, let it brew and cool to room temperature. When using decoctions, the fact of filtering is important, since no small particles should be in the washing solution. This can scratch and irritate the delicate mucous membrane of the baby's eyes.

In some cases, the doctor prescribes antiseptic solutions to wipe the eyes. For this purpose, slightly diluted solutions of potassium permanganate or furacilin are well suited. Potassium permanganate must be used with extreme caution.

This video is for parents of newborns:

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At a time when children have tears, parents begin to worry about the causes of their occurrence. But what if the baby is crying, but there are no tears?

The development of each child depends on his personal characteristics. Most children can develop "like everyone else", and some in a different way. And there is nothing wrong with that, if the test results do not go beyond the norm and the general state of health is good.

The organs of vision are one of the main "guides" for the knowledge of the world around us, and especially for children, whose journey is just beginning. From the very beginning, the areas of the brain responsible for information about what is happening around are formed in the baby. The eyes get used to the synchronous movement, and more and more images are deposited in the memory.

After birth, the baby perceives only shadow and light images., and the objects in front of it will look blurry and incomprehensible over time. The eyes of the newborn will try to catch the outlines of the object, therefore, the vision will train and grow stronger.

The appearance of tears: the first emotions and feelings

A child is a small person. He reacts to every small detail, reflects emotions and experiences vivid feelings. Some actions of newborns may be similar to the symptoms of diseases of various systems, which may confuse his parents.

Children often copy the emotions and habits of the people around them.

The expression of feelings is different and varied. When a child has tears, he involuntarily wants to convey his emotions to others. Toddlers twitch, cry, scream, smile, play with undeveloped facial expressions, just to attract the desired attention of their family.

Many parents ask themselves the question “what time do children have tears, is this a sign of the first feelings and emotions?”. The answer is simple - the first tears in newborns, like everything else, appear purely individually. But this does not negate the medical norm, which will help to understand this issue more carefully.

Real tears appear at the age of 1.5-2 months. There have been cases when babies have tears by 4 months. In this case, the fourth month plays a threshold role.

First vision problems

Symptoms of eye diseases appear immediately after birth. In the first days, the newborn has a large amount of discharge from the eyes. Tears in newborns are often absent.

After the baby began to cry, you can see that the tears do not come from both eyes, but from one. In such cases, do not worry. It takes time to carefully monitor the behavior of the newborn when crying. If tears continue to flow from one eye, it is necessary to resort to the help of doctors.

Other children's mucous membranes are also exposed to diseases and abnormalities. Often, babies are found to have a short frenulum, which does not allow him to use the oral cavity “to the maximum”. The nasolacrimal duct of newborns in some cases is closed with a mucous membrane., which does not allow secretions to break through.

Twitching (tremor) can signal a number of reasons. In newborns, it is accompanied by trembling of the limbs, muscle contractions. In case of serious shocks, the baby may react to the situation with trembling and slight twitching. It is necessary to visit a pediatrician or a neurologist if the reaction to external stimuli is strong.

If a baby sticks out his tongue, it can be both an expression of his emotions and a symptom of neurological problems.

In some cases, the tongue becomes a cause for concern. for various reasons and for many kids this is considered the norm. But is it really so?

There are both harmless and dangerous reasons why an infant has this symptom. One of the reasons is the knowledge of the world around us and our own sense of self.

If family members respond positively to the baby's emotions, he tries to repeat their actions. In this case, showing the tongue is not something bad, but on the contrary, it demonstrates the health and joy of the child.

Other signs depend on the condition of the newborn. When teeth begin to cut for the first time, the baby experiences not the most pleasant sensations. Itching interferes with healthy sleep, because of this, at the first teeth, you can notice how the newborn often cries and sleeps poorly.

When a newborn starts to cry, other health problems may show up. Negative features are deviations and diseases, which should be consulted with a specialist.

Signs and causes of eye problems

The protective film in the nasolacrimal ducts should disappear immediately after birth, but in some children it remains. Because of this, a disease occurs dacryocystitis, which signals the obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct.

The most common symptoms of poor tear duct function are:

  • wet eyes . Humidity on the eyes (eye) appears almost after returning from the maternity hospital. This option is the norm, but in some cases indicates the presence of dacryocystitis.
  • Discharge from the eyes . This is the first thing that immediately catches your eye. The structure of secretions is mucous, sticky. The color may be closer to brown, but most often the shade is yellowish. The secretions must be cleaned regularly, as they irritate the eyes and cause crusts on the eyelids.

Prevention of vision problems

In the baby's room, it is necessary to maintain the correct temperature and humidity.

Tips for caring for children's vision are the same as for adults, but with a number of caveats for age and thoroughness and frequency.

Children's room should be clean, spacious and well lit.. A room on the sunny side is best suited, the sun's rays will benefit the baby. Although light is necessary, the rules of darkness must also be observed. During sleep, the child is not recommended to turn on the night light, the room should be dark.

Young children love bright objects. Brain stimulation is a key moment in the formation of the organs of vision.

It is best to choose the most diverse toys: large, small, soft, hard, dark and light, bright. But remember that too small details are harmful and should not be used.

Plush toys store a lot of dust, and hard objects can hurt or stab. Tell your relatives about this, because. in our country, there is a strong tradition to give such gifts to the baby for discharge and memorable dates.

Take a closer look at the orthopedic mat, it is advised to purchase it so that the development of the baby occurs faster. Injuries must be ruled out. The child's nails should be cut short (read in a separate section on how to care for the nails of a newborn). These requirements also apply to family members who care for the child.

alarm bells

Parents should show their children to an ophthalmologist at the age of three months, then they practice trips to the eye doctor at 1 year and at 6 years. The specialist at the reception looks at the signs of dacryocystitis and the general condition of the eyes.

Signs to see a doctor:

  • Redness. Occur due to allergic reactions and inflammatory processes.
  • Allocations. This symptom indicates infection and physical abnormalities.
  • Dropped eyelids. Swelling and similar abnormalities signal the presence of eye diseases.
  • Strabismus. Disordered eye focus causes problems of strabismus, characterized by "floating" pupils.
  • Turbidity. "Worm" on the eye signals clouding of the cornea.
  • White pupil. The color of the pupil changes with congenital cataract, it is distinguished by a white tint.
  • Eye size. Should not be more than normal. In such cases, this symptom indicates congenital increased intraocular pressure.

At a time when children have tears when crying, they may be accompanied by unpleasant signs that indicate the symptoms of diseases.

Conjunctivitis is a big problem among children under one year old.

1 Conjunctivitis . The causes of conjunctivitis are different: from low immunity to non-compliance with hygiene standards. Symptoms of the disease are characterized by tearing, pain symptoms, purulent discharge and multiple reddening of the eyes.

2 Dacryocystitis. The disease is common among young children. The bottom line is that the nasolacrimal duct is closed by a film of embryonic tissue that did not have time to disappear in time. Dacryocystitis refers to pathologies and can spread to both one and both eyes.

3 Cataract. With cataracts, the lenses in children are different from the norm. In this disease, the lens is not transparent, but white and cloudy, which does not allow vision to function normally. Light does not pass through the retina and the child is unable to see like other people.

4 Glaucoma. The disease consists in increased intraocular pressure due to heredity and congenital abnormalities. Congenital glaucoma is a disease in which intraocular pressure increases due to hereditary or congenital disorders in the structures of the eye, and the intraocular fluid flows more than normal.

The norm involves the outflow of intraocular fluid, which helps metabolic processes and maintains the necessary pressure inside the eyeball. During glaucoma, these processes are disrupted.

5 Astigmatism. According to statistics, it is a hereditary disease in which there is a violation of the sphericity of the lens and cornea.

6 Farsightedness (hypermetropia). The presence of hypermetropia in young children may be a variant of the norm. At an older age, vision usually normalizes. Otherwise, vision is corrected.

7 Myopia (myopia). With myopia, a person is born with an abnormal eyeball, due to which light rays cannot reach the retina. The danger of this lies in the incorrect formation of the development of the child's body.

8 Strabismus (strabismus). A common disease that children often get sick, but are subsequently cured. This can be explained by the smooth development of vision, because of which vision can "swim" before it has fully formed.

Review from a mother who, from personal experience, faced with obstruction of the lacrimal canals in children, and how these problems were solved:

Separately about tearing eyes

The presence of tearing occurs for the following reasons:

  1. Anomalies of the nasolacrimal ducts;
  2. Violation of the outflow of fluid, foreign bodies;
  3. Malignant and benign cysts and tumors;
  4. Injuries;
  5. Conjunctivitis;
  6. allergic reactions;
  7. Malignant formations of the pituitary gland;
  8. Pathologies of the nervous system.

Actions for blockage of the nasolacrimal duct

Sick children with eye diseases at the reception are prescribed complex treatment, which includes massage and medication. They use the massage technique, use a solution of furacilin and chloramphenicol ointment. The treatment lasts about two weeks and gives positive results immediately after application. In some cases prescribe probing of the lacrimal canal, which is the last resort. The probing procedure takes 5 minutes in a medical institution. For moms, this procedure may seem complicated and nervous, because. the child should be held tightly and from this he screams loudly. Watch a video review from a mother whose baby had this operation, and your fears will go away:

Therapeutic massage technique

To start the massage, you need to carefully prepare. It is required to monitor the hygiene of your own hands and face of the child. Nails should be short and clean.

  1. Feel for the tubercle near the eyes and bridge of the nose, with gentle but firm movements to hold it.
  2. Using pressure, slide your fingers down from the eye sac.
  3. Remove purulent discharge with a cotton pad soaked in a solution of furacilin.

The technique itself is simple, but requires training from a specialist. Massage is recommended to be carried out with sterile gloves or use one of the antiseptic solutions. It is best to apply the technique before feeding, 2-4 times a day. Obligatory point is observance of rules of hygiene.

No need to be too soft, as this may not help. It is necessary to apply the force adjustment and follow it throughout the session. Practical tips for lacrimal canal massage from Dr. Komarovsky:

  1. After the procedure, treat the eyes with a new cotton pad moistened with a solution of chlorhexidine or furacilin.
  2. Drip one drop into the eye with the same medicinal solutions.

With increased secretion of pus, it is worth using drops. Doctors recommend Albucid, Tobrex and Floksal. Apply them three times a day and do not forget to visit a specialist ophthalmologist.

Other treatments

When a newborn has tearing, some doctors try not to resort to drugs right away. During excessive tearing and discharge from the eyes, ophthalmologists advise not only drops and medicinal solutions, but also herbal decoctions from:

  • Cornflower flowers;
  • Valerian root;
  • marigolds;
  • Chamomile;
  • Red clover;
  • Green tea;
  • Geranium meadow;
  • Yarrow.

conclusions

Caring for the eyes of a newborn and baby is simple and does not require much time. The most important thing is hygiene procedures, which must be carried out regularly.. The use of decoctions and solutions, medicines and doctor's recommendations is the key to success.

Do not forget about taking a bath with medicinal herbs, for example, with. When bathing, maintain the correct water temperature, more about this -. It is recommended to introduce complex children's eye gymnastics for older children into a daily habit.

The health of a child is in the hands of his family. Medicines and procedures will help in the treatment and prevention of diseases, but no one can do without proper care and sincere care. Watch practical lessons about the processing of the eyes of a newborn by specialists.

Young mothers after the birth of a child closely monitor his condition. And many begin to worry when they notice that the baby is crying, but there are no tears. When is it OK, and when is it justified to be worried? Let's take everything in order.

What are tears and what functions do they perform

A tear is a biological fluid that constantly washes the surface of the eyeball. It is produced by special glands called lacrimal (one large and many small, all of which are important for the proper functioning of the visual analyzer).

Tears are 98% water and 2% inorganic salts, a small amount of lipids, proteins and other organic substances. Normally, a tear covers the anterior part of the cornea, making it perfectly smooth and transparent.

The main functions are as follows:

  • moisturizing the mucous membrane (protection from drying out);
  • improvement of the optical properties of the eyes;
  • disinfection - the ability to protect the eyes from the harmful effects of pathogens from the outside (this happens due to lysozyme, which kills microbes and viruses);
  • protection and purification from foreign bodies.

In newborns, the mucous membranes are dry and thin, since the glands still produce little fluid. Eye protection does not work to its full potential, and they can periodically turn red and turn sour. While there are no tears, it is necessary to wash the eyes of the crumbs in the morning and evening. To do this, moisten a cotton pad with clean boiled water heated to a temperature of 36-37 degrees, and with gentle movements, from the outer edge to the inner, wipe one eye. Then take another cotton pad and repeat the procedure with the second eye.

You can do washing with a weak infusion of chamomile or furacilin. As a rule, this is required if there is inflammation, the eyes turn red, fester or itch.

What is normal and what is abnormal

Let's make a reservation right away: “dry” crying in newborns is an absolutely normal phenomenon, due to their physiology. When the baby was in the womb, there was no need for tears, because their functions were performed by the amniotic fluid, and the tear ducts were closed with mucous plugs. They protected from water ingress.

Immediately after birth, the baby sleeps almost all the time, and opens its eyes for a very short time. If he cries, then without tears. During the first weeks of life, the plugs dissolve, and in 1-2 months the first tears appear in the baby. Someone has only a couple of drops, someone has 2 streams - everything is purely individual here, both options are the norm.

However, the absence of tears in a baby at 3 months indicates a blockage of the tear ducts. This happens quite often, the reason is that the mucous plug has not yet resolved. Tears cannot flow out and accumulate inside. This leads to the fact that the eyes stick together, and the little one experiences discomfort, gets irritated and is naughty.

There is also the opposite situation, when the baby is calm, but tears still flow. This also suggests that the plugs are still inside the tear ducts.

When the first tears appear, parents should pay attention to whether they flow from both eyes or not. Sometimes the liquid flows out only from one side. This means that on the other hand, the tear duct is not working. Possible reasons:

  • the cork has not completely dissolved;
  • there is suppuration;
  • the channel itself is too narrow;
  • have congenital disorders.

Recipe for the occasion::

Only a specialist can identify the true cause, therefore, in case of blockage of the channels, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. After examination, depending on the situation, usually appoint:

  • special eye drops to remove traffic jams;
  • washing / lotions with solutions, decoctions, sometimes traditional medicine recipes are used;
  • massotherapy;
  • surgical treatment.

As a rule, they start with a massage. With the right technique, this is the most effective and safe way. Besides, the child will not be hurt.

It is necessary to massage the areas in the inner corners of the eyes with light circular movements. How to do, the doctor shows. Before the massage, be sure to wash your hands. The duration is 30-120 seconds, it should be repeated 2 to 10 times a day, depending on the case and the recommendations of the doctor.

The benefits of massage are in mechanical action: the accumulated tears begin to move, pressing on the cork, and the ducts are gradually cleared.

Usually, the result is already visible on the 3-5th day, and, as they say, it is obvious: the baby can now cry.

Means in the form of drops, lotions and washes are sometimes prescribed in parallel with the massage, sometimes after it (if for some reason the effect could not be achieved). The same can be said about folk remedies. And surgical intervention is practiced only in serious cases, when it was not possible to solve the problem in other ways.

Thus, you should not worry that a newborn child does not have tears, in due time they will definitely appear.

The function of the fluid secreted by the lacrimal glands in the womb is performed by amniotic fluid, so there are no tears in newborns after birth. The body, including the eyes, of the newborn is not yet completely formed. In addition, he is forced to adapt to the new environment, his development will take some time.

Why are there no tears?

The absence of tears when crying is dictated by the physiology of the body. For a long time the baby was inside the mother, having passed through the birth canal and being in new conditions, he squints, sees poorly. This is completely normal, the development of visual functions will occur over six months. In addition, after birth in the first month of life, the child begins to actively develop all the internal organs and systems of the body, including the eyes. They do not develop at the same time, the nasolacrimal canals are ready to work in 1-1.5 months.

The main reason for the absence of tears is considered to be the obstruction of the lacrimal canal, closed by a mucous plug, which prevented the ingress of fetal water into them.

When to expect tears?

Immediately after the birth, the tear ducts of the baby are still clogged, which explains the lack of secretion from them.

From the first minutes of birth, the baby begins to cry, but the parents do not see the tears yet. The thing is that the child must adapt to the new environment. The process of resorption of the gelatinous film in the tear ducts of the baby began immediately after birth, but it will take more than one week to complete it.

The norm for the appearance of tears

According to doctors, full disclosure begins from the end of 1 month to the middle of the second. Therefore, mothers can notice the first tears in babies both after 3 weeks and a little later, and this is the norm for such children. The situation suggests that each baby has an individual development, and tearing will not begin to appear in everyone at the same time.

Parents should know that upon reaching the required age, the baby's tears will be released synchronously from two eyes at once. There can be a lot of them at once or, conversely, the number of tears will be minimal. But both options for babies aged one, two months are normal. If the baby cries, and tears appear from only one eye, then the lacrimal canal does not fulfill its functions. There may be several reasons for the malfunction, to find out, you need to seek help from an ophthalmologist.

Daily Care


At first, it is important to pay attention to washing the baby's organs of vision.

During the resorption of the cork, hygiene procedures are very important. Washing the eyes of the baby in the morning and evening will help speed up the process of the disappearance of the film. For cleansing, a chamomile solution is suitable, which is brewed according to the following recipe:

  • For 1 st. l. dried flowers will need 250 ml of boiling water.
  • Chamomile is poured and infused for half an hour.
  • Soaked in a decoction that has cooled to room temperature, wipe the eyes with a cotton swab, from its outer corner to the inner.

Why can't there be tears for a long time?

To the state of health of the baby, you need to constantly maintain increased care. Sometimes the age of the baby is normal for the appearance of tears, but they do not flow. This may indicate that the tear duct is clogged, and this situation is not uncommon among infants. Tears are produced but cannot come out even if babies cry. They accumulate inside, which leads to gluing of the eye.

Sometimes tears may flow and the baby does not cry. This also indicates that the plug in the lacrimal ducts has not yet dissolved. In addition, there are the following additional reasons that affect the opening of passages:

  • narrow passages;
  • underdevelopment of function;
  • serous disease;
  • inflammatory process.

The process of adaptation of the child's body to life in a dry air environment takes time. Tears in newborns will begin to flow a few weeks after birth.

Most babies, having gone through the necessary cycle of intrauterine development, are born without knowing how to do a number of things - for example, crying tears. This function was not needed before, the amniotic fluid did an excellent job of moisturizing and cleansing the eye.

Many organs of the child during the first years of life are forced to go through a process of development and improvement - the eyes of the baby will learn to focus on the subject and consider the world around them in color. A person perceives most of the information about the world with his eyes; for their normal functioning, the proper functioning of the lacrimal canal is necessary.

Cry without tears

Young parents are very often interested in why newborns cry without tears and at what age they should appear. The reason for the phenomenon is in the features of the development of the baby's organs of vision.

The body of a newborn after birth is covered with a thin coating. This lubricant protects the baby from bacterial attack and minor injuries. But plaque is not only on the skin, it is present on the conjunctiva of the baby's eyes and clogs the lacrimal canal with a jelly-like plug. During the development of the embryo, this plug closes the lacrimal duct, preventing it from entering the amniotic fluid.

In order for it to open, it takes time - usually tearing should begin before 45 days, although there are unique ones who can shed tears from the moment of birth.

The main reasons for the later opening of the tear ducts are:

  1. immaturity, it takes time to start functioning, each baby will need an individual period;
  2. the ducts have a peculiarity of development - they are too narrow;
  3. the plug that clogs the duct is too thick;
  4. congenital weak channel functionality;
  5. congenital pathology;
  6. acquired inflammatory eye disease.

The development of each baby is individual, and each at a different time will open the lacrimal canal and begin to function the lacrimal glands. Until that time, the child cries without tears.

Eye Care

After birth, the child is in an unusual air environment, most of the time he sleeps. During wakefulness, the baby's eyes are dry - moisturizing the eyes is insufficient. The baby needs additional eye care for greater comfort. Sometimes the need for such care is indicated by redness of the eyes and eyelids, purulent discharge may appear in the corners of the eyes. This phenomenon does not go away on its own, so parents should clean the baby's eyes in the morning.

When washing the baby, with a clean cotton pad moistened with warm water, you need to thoroughly, but carefully, rinse your eyes moving from ear to nose, using a separate disk for each eye. This procedure is carried out in the evening with daily bathing. Traditional medicine recommends using breast milk for this procedure.

If symptoms of redness or suppuration of the eyes are noted, the child should be shown to the doctor. Washing helps a lot (the solution must be very weak) or. Potassium permanganate must be diluted, carefully making sure that all the grains of the substance are dissolved.

To prepare a decoction of chamomile, you should use chamomile packaged in bags, which is steamed in a cup. For one bag you need 100 grams of hot water. For washing, the infusion must be cooled to room temperature.

If there is a pharmacy grass, then for brewing take a teaspoon of grass per 100 grams of boiling water. After the infusion has cooled slightly, it should be drained through several layers of gauze and used for washing.

First tears

The lacrimal glands begin to work in the baby after 45-60 days from the moment of his birth, until this time the newborn cries without tears. After their appearance, the cork sealing the tear duct begins to dissolve more actively. Until the free flow of fluid through the ducts is fully restored, moisture will not be released freely.

According to Dr. Komarovsky, with normally developed channels, tears flow into the nasopharynx, the process is painless, children and mothers do not notice how moisture arises and flows.

These babies will be able to cry normally by the age of three months. When tears appear in a crying baby, they go in different ways - for someone they are large, like peas, for someone they will be small single droplets.

If there is no free outflow, then accumulating in the ducts, the tears of the newborn will provoke irritation of the nasal mucosa, causing inexplicable snot. Stagnation of moisture and a runny nose makes the child capricious, the whites of the eyes may turn red, with pressure on the nose and forehead, the child will cringe and cry.

If a similar situation persists, the child should be shown to the doctor. The diagnosis will be, to correct the situation, the baby needs help.

Help doctor

After the baby is one month old, the baby needs to be shown to the doctor. Such routine examinations should be carried out after the child reaches the age of three months, six months and a year.

The purpose of the examination by a specialist:

  • the condition of the baby's eyes;
  • determination of the correct structure of the eye;
  • determination of the approximate date of opening of the nasolacrimal canal;
  • eyesight check;
  • providing advice to parents on caring for their child's eyes;
  • the appointment of the necessary therapeutic measures.

At the age of six months, the doctor will be interested in the coordination of visual and grasping reflexes, the child's ability to clearly perceive objects and his visual acuity. By this age, the tear duct should work normally, the baby is able to cry with a lot of tears.

To determine the quality of the functioning of the tear duct, the oculist conducts a special color test. For this:

  1. A colored solution is instilled into the baby's eyes (it may be a yellow solution of furacilin);
  2. Cotton swabs are inserted into the nostrils;
  3. After 10 minutes, the amount of colored liquid in the eyes and the appearance of paint on swabs are assessed.

If staining does not occur, obstruction of the nasolacrimal canal is determined.

To restore the patency of the nasolacrimal canals, the doctor may prescribe a massage for the child. His mother performs the child at home on her own.

If the doctor decides that it is necessary to restore the patency of the ducts, the ophthalmologist performs a small intervention using local anesthesia.

The child's eyes are instilled with a special composition, then a probe is used to expand the lacrimal canal. After the procedure, it is cleared of the cork and becomes free for the outflow of moisture, a tear appears in the baby's eyes.

Tear duct massage

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The cause is a violation in the opening of the lacrimal canal or the appearance of strands (adhesions) in it that prevent the outflow of tears. The fluid accumulating in the lacrimal sac causes discomfort, and pus appears when the infection joins. Sometimes antibiotics are prescribed in such cases, but the most effective treatment is massage, which will restore the outflow and relieve inflammation.

Massage helps to open the second duct, push out the plug that was in it. For a massage you need:

  1. wash hands thoroughly with unscented soap and warm water;
  2. prepare a clean cotton pad;
  3. gently press with your fingertips on the skin under the eye tubercle;
  4. massage first under one, then under the second eye for one to two minutes;
  5. gently remove the contents of their lacrimal canal with a cotton pad.

Massage is carried out 5-6 times a day for a minute. The procedure is painless, if it is carried out correctly, the child should not cry. The opening of the channel and the exit of the birth plug occurs 2-3 days after the start of the massage.

Additionally, the child's eyes should be washed with chamomile, potassium permanganate, furatsilina solution. What kind of solution to use and what its concentration should be told by the doctor! After tears have appeared in the second eye, you need to show the child again to the doctor to make sure that the disease has passed.

Parents should carefully monitor the baby and immediately consult a doctor if there is a delay in the appearance of tears - visual acuity and the development of the baby in the future depend on this.