What is Naso Lacrimal Duct Obstruction (NLDO) in children?

Naso lacrimal duct or commonly known tear duct obstruction is a common cause of watering in newborns or young children.

What are common symptoms of NLDO?

Following are the common symptoms of NLDO:

1. • Watering of eyes
   

2. • Pooling of tears
   

3. • Stickiness of eyes
   

4. • Mucopurulent discharge
   

5. • Swelling and redness around the lacrimal sac area

What kind of non surgical treatment is available for NLDO?

Antibiotic eye drops should be administered 4-6 times a day. Also, massaging of the lacrimal sac is done 4 -5 times in a day which helps in opening the blockage . This is usually effective for children less than 1 year age.

What kind of surgical treatment is available for NLDO?

Probing: If nonsurgical treatment fails then probing is done at the age of 1 year. This is carried out under general anesthesia in which stainless steel probes are used to open the tear duct. This is a safe procedure with 90 – 95 % effectiveness. If the symptoms persists a second time probing can be repeated after 1 month .

Silicon intubation: In older children ( around 2 years ) probing is combined with silicon intubation (placing a silicon tube in the tear duct) to keep them patent.

Dacryocystorhinostomy: In some rare cases this surgery is used to create an alternate passage for the tear outflow.