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August 28, 2004
Karis and her Plugged Duct
Two days after Karis was born, it was noted she had a plugged tear duct on the left side. Her eye always had an excess of tearing (as you see in this photo) and every so often would get, for want of a better term, "gunky". I kept it as clean as possible by wiping it with warm cotton balls and massaging the tear duct several times a day in an effort to get it to spontaneously resolve itself.
When it got "gunky", there were antibiotic drops to put in it several times a day for 5 days. For the first 7 months or so, it wasn't hard to get the drops in. As Karis has gotten older, her evasive manuvers have gotten more sophisticated. I can't hold her little arms down, hold her head still, pry her eye open enough to get the drops in, and still have a hand left to actually administer the drops.
Over the last 3 weeks or so, the "gunkiness" has increased and it has been getting increasingly red. We went to an eye doctor who said that after 6 months of age, each month the chances of it clearing up with massage get less and less. So, Karis is scheduled to have a "Probing and irigation of the left lacrimal system". It is minor surgery, and she will be under anesthesia while they do it. There really aren't any risks to the procedure itself, but of course with general anesthesia, there are always risks.
I know that in the scheme of things it is a very small procedure, but I worry none the less...
Posted by mclianne at August 28, 2004 07:27 PM