Lacrimal canal massage for newborns and babies

About 5% of babies from birth suffer from dacryocystitis - age-related or acquired blockage of the nasolacrimal canal and inflammation of the lacrimal sac. One of the most effective ways to treat this pathology is a special massage. How to do it and what to pay attention to in this case, we will tell you in this article.

About pathology

The lacrimal sac accumulates tears. They are needed not only so that the baby can make a stronger impression on the parents in case of whims, but also for natural disinfection and protection of the organs of vision. Normally, excess tears pass through the nasolacrimal canal, which connects the lacrimal sac and the nasal cavity. That is why toddlers sniff while crying.

If this canal is too narrow, the lacrimal fluid cannot flow freely and leave the lacrimal sac. The eyes of such a child look watery, unhealthy. Meanwhile, bacteria begin to multiply in the lacrimal sac due to the lack of drainage capacity. Due to this, inflammation, suppuration occurs.

In newborns, dacryocystitis is different from a disease that can develop in older children. It is more physiological, since in infants the obstruction of the canal is associated with its congenital narrowness. Often it passes on its own, but the parents' task is to help the baby.

In children who are no longer considered newborns by age, but belong to the category of infants (children up to a year old), obstruction of the nasolacrimal canal can develop during the flu, an acute respiratory viral infection. Sometimes such unpleasant symptoms are the result of a prolonged runny nose of any origin, as well as the presence of polyps in the nose.

Children who fell and injured their nose also often suffer from dacryocystitis, since the location of the septum in them may be disrupted. Launched dacryocystitis is dangerous by the development of an abscess or phlegmon, which will require serious surgical treatment.

Massage characteristic

Mom and Dad, together with the doctor, to whom they, of course, will turn, must rule out another rather similar disease - conjunctivitis. Only after that a decision is made on the appointment of treatment and eye massage as an integral part of this therapy.

Lacrimal canal massage is the first priority. It is considered the most gentle and correct way to treat childhood dacryocystitis. Sometimes such manipulations are called dacryomassage.

Dr. Evgeny Komarovsky, whose opinion is listened to by millions of mothers and grandmothers around the world, strongly recommends that mothers master this simple procedure, because in most cases, if home treatment is carried out correctly, it is possible to completely avoid surgical intervention.

This type of massage effect belongs to the group of therapeutic massage. It is done in the ophthalmologist's office, where the mother will be shown the basic techniques to conduct sessions at home on her own.

Massage sessions, if carried out correctly, allow to restore the patency of the lacrimal canaliculus, expand it, provide sufficient drainage of the lacrimal sac, as a result of which its work is restored, and the inflammation disappears.

Training

Masseur

The most difficult thing in the preparation process is for sure to learn where the child's lacrimal canal is. To do this, it is advisable for the parent to ask this question to the doctor, who will be happy to show it clearly and teach how to determine its location. First, the mother is advised to look for it at home, and only then start searching on the child. The desired object is located between the corners of the eyes and the bridge of the nose on both sides and is quite clearly felt with the index fingers.

A mother who is going to massage a baby with a clogged lacrimal tubule needs to give up manicure - the nails should be cut short and polished, they should not have burrs, and the rest of the varnish should be carefully removed from them. There should be no wounds, burns or cuts on the index and middle fingers. The masseur's hands must be clean without fail, otherwise the situation with inflammation can be noticeably aggravated. After washing with children's hypoallergenic soap, treat your hands with an alcohol-free antiseptic, such as Miramistin.

Do not forget about the need to warm your hands before the massage - they should be warm, touching should not cause the baby unpleasant sensations and discomfort.

Thus, the masseur for the procedure will need:

Miramistin;
baby soap and hot water;
clean hand towel;
set for manicure.

Child

Before starting the massage, you need to cleanse the baby's eyes, free them from stagnant tear fluid and pus during suppuration. To do this, a cotton pad is moistened in a warm chamomile broth or a weak furacilin solution (1: 5000).

With careful movements from the outer edge of the eye to the bridge of the nose, the mother cleans the eyes, eyelids from pus and accumulated tears. It is important to treat each eye with a separate disk and not allow movements in the opposite direction - from the inner edge of the eye to the outer one. It is optimal to spend one disc per movement to prevent the spread of infection.

Thus, both eyes are cleansed. After that, it is considered that the baby is ready to start massage manipulations.

The list of what you need to prepare your baby looks like this:

cotton pads;
warm solution of furacilin (chamomile decoction) for cleansing;
container for dirty discs.

After cleansing the eyes, make sure that the child does not touch them with their hands.

Technique

The massage is carried out on a flat and firm surface, preferably at the height of the mother's arms, so that she does not have to bend too low. For these purposes, a changing table or a regular table is optimal, on which a diaper and oilcloth should first be laid. Pay attention to the presence of sufficient lighting in the massage area - it is best that there is plenty of daylight. It is dangerous to carry out such an accurate massage at dusk.

All of the above substances and materials must be located nearby, at arm's length, so that mom does not need to be distracted, turn away to take a clean disc or throw out a contaminated one. In a split second, a child can fall off the table and receive a serious injury to the head, spine, and limbs.

After cleansing the eyes, mom moves on to the main part of the dacryomassage. With her index fingers, mom gropes for the lacrimal sac between the corner of the eye and the bridge of the nose on both sides. With light vibrating movements, the mother gently presses on the lacrimal sac to ensure the discharge of purulent masses, if any.

The masseur's finger is located just above the lacrimal sac and begins to slide down to the bridge of the nose. Enough 8-10 movements from top to bottom with a light vibrating pressure directly on the lacrimal sac. The last movement is done in the opposite direction - from bottom to top.

It is undesirable to allow pauses between movements. Movements should be fast enough. If everything is done correctly, the patency of the lacrimal tubule will improve, recover, and the channel itself will become wider.

The appearance of pus after the first few movements can indicate the correctness of actions. If this happens, the mother should stop the reception, take a clean disc, soak it in an antiseptic that was used to cleanse the eyes, remove the pus. After that, you can continue the massage.

The second eye is massaged in the same way. The massage is not considered painful, but the child may be anxious during the manipulations, this is quite natural and should not cause strong anxiety in the parents. Anxiety can become especially strong at the final stage of the session, when the mother, after completing the massage, drops the medications prescribed by the ophthalmologist into the baby's eyes. If there is pus, antibiotic drops are usually prescribed, if there is no pus, antiseptic drops are used.

After instillation in the recommended dosage, you need to make a short (no more than several circular movements, light and without pressure) eyelid massage with the pads of your thumbs, so that the drug is better distributed over the eyeball and gets to the lacrimal glands and the lacrimal sac.

After the massage, the mother should thoroughly wash her hands and treat them again with Miramistin, and only then continue communication with the baby.

A course of treatment

Dacryocystitis takes a long time to heal. But if mom is not lazy, the results may appear in a few days. Massage in the above way should be carried out at least 5-7 times a day. The total duration of the course is usually two weeks, but it can be reduced or increased by the attending physician, depending on the dynamics of the pathology.

If the child has recurrences of inflammation even after a course of treatment, massage can be preventive, but in this case it is recommended to carry out it 1-2 times a day when the first signs of an incipient relapse appear or daily.

Tips & Tricks

Some useful tips will help you massage correctly and prevent complications:

Do not use alcohol-containing liquids for eye treatment, do not apply compresses on the eyes - this will increase inflammation.
Avoid using regular cotton wool, even its sterile version, or bandage for processing. The easily detachable fibers of these materials can enter the eyes and aggravate the inflammatory process.
Do not administer eye drops and ointments to your child. A specific remedy must be recommended by a pediatrician or ophthalmologist, otherwise massage followed by the use of an unauthorized medication can only harm the little one.
If the eyes do not fester, then, in agreement with your doctor, you can make warm compresses for a short time after cleansing and before the massage (it is important that there really is no suppuration!).
It is not at all necessary to end each massage session with dripping or applying ointment. Observe the frequency recommended by your doctor. If the drops are prescribed three times a day, and the massage is done 7 times, instill the drops every other session.
Even if only one eye is sick, the prescribed drops are instilled into both eyes. But at the same time you can massage only one eye affected by dacryocystitis.

Contraindications

Massage, which is effective enough to eliminate the blockage of the lacrimal tubules, is contraindicated in a child if he has dropsy of the lacrimal sac. Also, such an effect is categorically contraindicated at stages when the ordinary, in fact, dacryocystitis has already passed into complicated forms and there is a phlegmon of the lacrimal sac or abscess.

It is clear that it is not the parents who should establish the presence of such complications, but the doctor. And this is another argument in favor of prior consultation with a specialist.

Dacryomassage is not always desirable for some anatomical abnormalities in the structure of the baby's organs of vision. Such deviations are usually congenital, and the doctor will definitely warn you about the contraindication to massage in this case.

Reviews

Parents who have treated dacryocystitis in an infant or newborn with a lacrimal canal massage say that the procedure is safe and quite effective. True, it can be difficult to decide on it, but this is only at first.

Massage effects at home are called by mothers an excellent alternative to surgical sounding of the lacrimal canal. Nevertheless, many parents on thematic forums dedicated to the health of children describe that the course of treatment was quite painful for both the massage therapist mom and the child. It can be quite difficult for a mother to choose the correct trajectory of movements of her fingers, and children can scream and get nervous during massage.

Experienced mothers recommend that you imagine that your fingers are drawing an inverted comma, this will be the correct trajectory, and the massage itself should be done before each feeding. Manipulations with the eyes of the crumbs after feeding lead to screaming and profuse regurgitation.

There are significantly more reviews of those who were helped by massage to cope with the problem without probing than those who were not helped by massage procedures and had to resort to the help of a surgeon. But, nevertheless, there are negative reviews too. A mother who has planned such a massage should definitely familiarize herself with them in order to be ready for any scenario.

Many mothers point out that it is very important to observe massage technique and hygiene, otherwise it is very easy for the child to harm, infect, worsen his condition, and injure his eyes.