My poor little girl woke up this morning with a very swollen eye. Her left eye runs quite often, and has ever since she was born. I assumed it was from allergies, but today's doctor's appointment proved that was not the case.
I was concerned about the swelling, so I figured it would be a good idea to take her in to be looked at. While we were waiting, she was having a big time. We saw a new doctor (there are quite a few at the office), and for some reason we had to wait almost 45 minutes in the room. That is rare. Anyways, she was highly entertained by the paper.....
By this point her swelling had gone way, way down so I knew it couldn't be pink eye. Her doctor informed us that Ady has a blocked tear duct. About 6% of babies are born with it. Tears are made in us to help protect the surface of our eyes. They drain into a tear duct through the corner of our eyes. In Ady's case, it is blocked and so the tears build up, with no place to drain, and they often come down her face. It is made worse whenever she is outside in wind, sun, etc. It's not a serious condition at all, in fact, most babies outgrow it by the time they are a year old. But, the swelling is a step that says it's starting to become an issue. We have to put a warm compress on it several times a day and massage it and clean it out 2-3 times a day. Hopefully, it will help it to "open up".
The doctor noted that Ady had a pretty nasty upper respiratory infection. I guess it was from all those kisses and squeezes that she got from everyone this weekend :) She said that the eye's running can be made worse when there is an infection. Hopefully, it will open on it's own. Her swelling is back again this evening. If it doesn't let up like it did this morning and continues to keep swelling, I have to take her back in. I assume she'll need antibiotics and drops if this happens. As far as the massaging goes, she didn't like it when I tried today. I'm sure it's uncomfortable for her. I was able to massage it via the warm washcloth, though. Any mommies out there have any experience or tips in this?
My poor girl didn't feel quite like herself today. She was so happy though! No tears and fussiness, but she just wanted to be snuggled a little extra and watch movies all day and play Barbies, so we did just that! :) She is a trooper even when she's sick!
As for now, I'll make sure she gets plenty of carrots to keep those eyes nice and strong :)
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