Dacryocystitis is an inflammation of the lacrimal sac, which has an acute or chronic course. The causes of dacryocystitis in adults are traumatic injuries, often stenosis of the nasolacrimal duct or infection of surrounding tissues.
Dacryocystitis of newborns is a condition that occurs in 80% of cases and is explained by the fact that the gelatinous films in the nasolacrimal duct did not have time to rupture and resolve. Less common are congenital pathologies of the nasolacrimal duct or sac - diverticula or atresia.
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Benefit
All therapeutic measures for dacryocystitis, including massage, are aimed at getting rid of the following unpleasant consequences of the disease:
- Restoring the function of the nasolacrimal duct, which is blocked.
- Relieving inflammation in the lacrimal sac area.
- Sanitation of tear removal.
Expert opinion
Ermolaeva Tatyana Borisovna
Ophthalmologist of the highest category, Candidate of Medical Sciences
By carrying out stimulation using massage of the lacrimal sac, you can achieve a rapid breakthrough of the tear plug and thereby normalize oxygen exchange.
When applied locally to the skin around the eyes, the following results can be achieved:
- Acceleration of blood circulation.
- Regulation of water and electrolyte balance.
- Relieving swelling.
- Regulation of lymph outflow.
It is known that nerve endings pass near the eye. By acting on them, you can achieve a calming and analgesic effect.
But this is subject to proper implementation and subsequent washing of the lacrimal canal with antiseptic solutions or decoctions based on medicinal herbs. Special eye drops are also used as prescribed by a doctor.
Massage for dacryocystitis often allows you to do without the use of antibiotics, which means that a small child will not be exposed to medications that affect the gastrointestinal tract, cause allergies or other adverse reactions.
Expert opinion
Ermolaeva Tatyana Borisovna
Ophthalmologist of the highest category, Candidate of Medical Sciences
As medical practice shows, 25% of newborns are cured of dacryocystitis only by performing a massage in the eye area.
Indications and contraindications
Massage will be indicated for a child if he has obvious signs of dacryocystitis.
These include:
- Swelling under the lower eyelid closer to the bridge of the nose.
- The appearance of purulent contents and mucus from the eye area.
- Prolonged lacrimation.
As an additional indication for massage, it should be noted the appearance of a gelatin plug in the tear ducts, which impedes the outflow of fluid.
It is worth noting that there are also contraindications for this procedure. Most often, there are two main diseases:
- Phlegmon.
- Hydrops of the lacrimal sac.
Expert opinion
Ermolaeva Tatyana Borisovna
Ophthalmologist of the highest category, Candidate of Medical Sciences
Despite the presence of all these symptoms, you cannot begin to massage your newborn on your own. A course of massage actions can only be prescribed by the attending physician.
Causes of childhood dacryocystitis
A baby can get dacryocystitis for a number of reasons:
- if an infection gets into the eyes;
- if his tear duct is too narrow or underdeveloped;
- if there are genetic prerequisites for obstruction of the lacrimal ducts;
- if there are congenital defects in the structure of the skull and nose.
Any of these reasons can disrupt the patency of the channels through which lacrimal fluid circulates, which leads to its stagnation and the development of an inflammatory process in the lacrimal sac. Dacryocystitis in a newborn can be suspected based on signs such as the presence of purulent or mucous discharge, severe lacrimation, redness, and swelling.
Preparation
Before performing a massage, preparation is necessary for both the child and the person who will perform the procedure. Most often, this is the baby’s mother, to whom the doctor first shows all the actions.
Moms
Mom should be prepared as follows:
- Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to thoroughly examine the baby’s eyes and determine where the tear duct is located. It is advisable that a doctor show all this.
- To avoid injuring the baby's eyes, you must first cut your nails short.
- Hands are washed well with soap.
- If your hands are cold, you need to warm them up first.
- Apply a small amount of cream or oil to your fingers. This will make it easier to massage. Do not overdo it with the quantity, otherwise the child will become irritated.
Baby
- First, a cotton pad is moistened in chamomile decoction or furatsilin solution. After this, it cleanses each eye of mucus and purulent discharge. Take a separate cotton pad for each eye.
- Movements are made from the outer corner of the eye to the inner.
- The eye is washed as follows. The baby should be turned on his side and using a pipette, drop a chamomile decoction or furatsilin solution into the eye area.
The child's sick eyes are cleaned and washed in this way up to 5 times a day . The procedure is indicated until complete recovery. After which it is necessary to show the baby to an ophthalmologist again.
Treatment methods
Therapy is carried out in several stages. If, after an examination, the ophthalmologist diagnosed “dacryocystitis,” do not be alarmed and look for ways to treat it yourself.
A successful outcome will depend on a quick response and compliance with medical orders.
Probing the tear ducts
Probing is considered one of the most successful methods for eliminating this problem.
In this case, in a hospital setting, the child is given a special probe that widens the lacrimal canal.
The procedure is relatively safe and painless. Depending on the practice of the medical institution, general anesthesia or local anesthetics may be used. After the manipulation, antibacterial therapy and eye rinsing are used, which can also be carried out in a hospital or clinic.
Massage technique
Special massage techniques usually work well to remove pus from the lacrimal sacs.
The first session is necessarily performed by a specialist who will show the mother the direction of manipulation.
Such procedures, coupled with the use of medications and folk remedies, give good results when it comes to partial blockage of the tear ducts. If we are talking about serious disorders and complete obstruction, special probing may be required.
Massage should be performed regularly for one to two weeks. The complex also uses lavage of the tear ducts and drug therapy. Also find out about moderate hypermetropia in children here.
On video: dacryocystitis in newborns, treatment, Dr. Komarovsky
Medicines: ointments and drops
The optimal treatment using pharmaceutical drugs should be prescribed by a doctor, especially since they are effective only when the main causative agent of the infection is identified.
The most commonly used is eye rinsing (at home or in the hospital), instillation with antibacterial drops (Levomycetin, Oftaquix, Tsipromed, Oftalmoferon, Tobrex, Albucid and others).
For young children, it is also possible to use special ointments and gels , for example, Oftagel, Floxal, and the classic Tetracycline and Hydrocortisone.
In the picture: how to properly apply ointment to a baby’s eyes
Traditional methods
, washing the eyes with herbal decoctions has worked very well
You can use tea leaves, chamomile decoctions and strings. At the same time, responsible parents should know for sure that the main cause of the disease will not be eliminated in this way.
A doctor may recommend such methods in combination with other measures to prevent the spread of infection.
What could be the consequences if the obstruction of the tear ducts is not treated?
Early diagnosis and adequate treatment are an important stage of therapy. If the tear ducts are obstructed, fluid stagnation occurs, and if infection gets inside, purulent inflammation occurs.
All this can lead to general infection of the body and clogging of the tear ducts. This condition is very difficult to treat, and if in the early stages everything can be solved with probing and drug treatment, then later surgical intervention will be necessary.
If an infection of any nature gets inside, unpleasant consequences can begin - a purulent process, fraught with deterioration and even complete loss of vision.
How to do massage procedures correctly?
All massage actions are first shown by an ophthalmologist. Then the mother must repeat the entire sequence exactly herself, since up to 5 such procedures will need to be performed per day. The massage is usually carried out over two weeks, but there are cases when, after the first session, the lacrimal sac breaks through and recovery occurs.
The massage begins with the preparatory steps described above, after which you can begin to work sequentially.
The massage scheme consists of several steps:
- Place your newborn on a firm, level surface.
- Select the finger with which the massage actions will be performed; it is installed at the point between the beginning of the eyebrow in the bridge of the nose and the inner corner of the eye. This is where the lacrimal sac is located.
- Now you can perform the movements, applying slight pressure, directing them to the bridge of the nose. Actions must be of a jerky nature and be quite fast.
- The pressure exerted by your finger should be felt.
- For one session you will need to make 5-7 movements. The maximum number is up to 10 motor revolutions. Such pressure in the area of the eye canal soon leads to a breakthrough of the membrane or film.
- At the end of the massage, drops prescribed by the doctor are instilled into both eyes, this is done even if the massage was used only on one eye.
- More than five such procedures should not be carried out in one day.
Technique of the procedure
To massage the lacrimal canal, you need to wear sterile medical gloves that fit tightly on pre-washed hands. You need to use cotton pads, baby cream to lubricate the roar and a decoction of anti-inflammatory herbs - chamomile, string, etc.
The technique is as follows:
- Soak cotton pads in the herbal infusion and wipe the baby's eyes, making sure that the liquid flows to the nose and not to the ear. Use a separate disc for each eye.
- Place the baby on his back and use your middle or index finger to feel the tear duct in the inner corner of the eye, between the eye and the baby's eyebrow.
- Perform a sliding movement with slight pressure from the corner of the eye towards the wing of the nose - 5-10 times.
- The massage scheme for a baby with dacryocystitis of newborns also includes light vibrating movements from top to bottom, aimed at breaking through the plug blocking the lacrimal canal.
- Finish massaging your baby's eye with spiral movements in the opposite direction - from the tip of the nose to the beginning of the eyebrows.
- Now you can put the baby on his side and repeat the procedure if he is not tired.
After completing the session, instill drops if the pediatric ophthalmologist recommended them. If the child is approaching one month of age, it is useful to do vision exercises after 10-15 minutes. To do this, place a bright toy at a distance of 30-40 cm from the baby’s face and slowly move it from side to side 5-7 times.
Read also…. How to choose a vibrating body massager
Precautions and Recommendations
To avoid harming your baby during a massage, you must follow these recommendations:
- All movements should not be rough. It is worth remembering that the baby’s nose has not yet formed a bone skeleton, and the sinuses are still entirely made of cartilage.
- Constantly monitor the baby’s condition and remember the contraindications. Infection can easily enter the child's body, and massage is not performed in this position.
- Did massage help your child with dacryocystitis?
Not really
It is also worth making sure that during the procedure the leaking pus does not get into the second eye or ear of the newborn.
- Before the massage, test the pressure of your finger on yourself.
- Remember that the older the baby gets, the more painful this massage will be for him.
- If after two weeks of such treatment the symptoms of dacryocystitis have not disappeared, you will have to contact the ophthalmologist again, and probing surgery may be prescribed.
- Even after probing, massage should be carried out according to the doctor’s indications in order to avoid relapses of the disease in the future.
- In some cases, additional antibiotic therapy will be needed.
How long will it take for it to help and what to do if it doesn’t help?
When starting treatment for dacryocystitis, it is necessary to complete it, as otherwise serious complications will begin. On average, the course takes two weeks , during which time the lacrimal sac should break through and the inflammation should disappear.
If after a week of massage the parents do not see any improvement, then they should consult a doctor again.
In this case, surgery will be required. Most often, in early infancy, probing of the lacrimal ducts is performed . The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. First, a mechanical rupture of the embryonic plug is made. After this, its contents are pumped out with a probe. Finally, the cavity is washed with an antiseptic solution.
Diet
Diet 15 table
- Efficacy: therapeutic effect after 2 weeks
- Timing: constantly
- Cost of food: 1600-1800 rubles per week
A baby whose tear sac is inflamed should receive breast milk like all newborns. As for the advice about dropping breast milk into the eye, you shouldn’t follow it. Such use of breast milk can be not only useless, but also harmful, because in this case the risk of infection with pathogenic bacteria increases.
Adults can eat their usual food, trying to formulate a diet so that it is both varied and nutritious.
