Massage of the lacrimal canal for newborns and infants

About 5% of babies from birth suffer from dacryocystitis - age-related or acquired obstruction 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, we will tell in this article.

The lacrimal sac accumulates eye-catching tears. They are needed not only to ensure that the baby can make a stronger impression on parents in the moods, but also for natural disinfection and protection of the organs of vision. Normally, excess tears flow along the nasal duct that connects the lacrimal sac and the nasal cavity. That is why karapuzy dick nose when crying.

If this channel is too narrow, the lacrimal fluid cannot easily depart and leave the lacrimal sac. Eyes of such a child look teary, 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 obstruction of the canal is associated with its congenital narrowness. Often he passes on his own, but the task of his parents is to help the crumbs.

In children who are no longer considered newborns by age, but belong to the category of infants (children under one year of age), nasolacrimal duct obstruction may develop during the flu, acute respiratory viral infection. Sometimes these unpleasant symptoms are a consequence of a long cold of any origin, as well as the presence of polyps in the nose.

Children who have fallen and injured the nose, also often suffer from dacryocystitis, since the location of the septum may be disturbed. Launched dacryocystitis is dangerous by the development of an abscess or cellulitis, which will require serious surgical treatment.

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

Massage of the lacrimal canal is the appointment of the first stage. It is considered the most benign and correct way to treat childhood dacryocystitis. Sometimes such manipulations are called dacryomassage.

This type of massage effect belongs to the group of therapeutic massage. They do it in the office of an ophthalmologist, and in the same place, mothers will be shown the basic techniques to conduct sessions at home on their own.

Massage sessions, if carried out correctly, allow you to restore the patency of the tear duct, expand it, ensure sufficient drainage of the tear duct, as a result of which its work is restored and the inflammation disappears.

The most difficult thing in the process of preparation is for sure to learn where the child has a tear channel.For this reason, it is advisable for the parent to ask this question to the doctor, who is happy to show clearly and teach how to determine its location. Pre-mom is recommended to look for it at home, and only then proceed to search on the child. The desired object is between the corners of the eyes and the bridge of the nose on both sides and is quite clearly felt by the index fingers of the hands.

Mom, who is going to massage the baby when the tear ducts are blocked, needs to give up manicure - the nails should be cut short and polished, they should not be burrs, the varnish residues should be carefully removed. There should be no wounds, burns and cuts on the index and middle fingers. Hands of a massage therapist must be clean, otherwise the situation with inflammation can be significantly aggravated. After washing with hypoallergenic children's soap, treat your hands with an alcohol-free antiseptic, for example, “Miramistin».

Thus, the masseur for the procedure will need:

• «Miramistin»;
• baby soap and hot water;
• clean hand towel;
• manicure set.

Before proceeding with the massage, you need to clean the eyes of the baby, free them from stagnant tears and pus when festering. For this, a cotton pad is moistened in warm chamomile broth or a weak furatsilin solution (1: 5000).

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

Both eyes are cleaned in this way. After that, it is believed that the baby is ready to begin massage manipulations.

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

• cotton pads;
• furatsilina warm solution (chamomile decoction) for cleaning;
• capacity for dirty discs.

The massage is performed 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, on which a diaper and oilcloth should be laid, are optimally suited. Pay attention to the presence of sufficient lighting of the massage place - it’s best to have plenty of daylight. At dusk, such an accurate massage is dangerous to perform.

All of the above substances and materials need to be located close to the arm's length, so that mom does not need to be distracted, turn away to take a clean disk or throw away the polluted. A child in a split second can fall off the table and get a serious injury to the head, spine, limbs.

After cleansing the eyes, the mother goes to the main part of the dacryomassage. With the index fingers of the hand, mother gropes for the lacrimal sac between the edge 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 finger of the masseur is located slightly above the lacrimal sac and begins to slide down to the bridge of the nose. There is enough 8-10 movements from top to down with easy vibrating pressing directly on the lacrimal sack. The last movement is done in the opposite direction - from bottom to top.

The appearance of pus after the first few movements may indicate the correctness of the actions.If this happens, the mother should stop the reception, take a clean disc, moisten it with an antiseptic, which was pre-cleansing eyes, remove pus. After that, you can continue the massage.

Similarly, the second eye is massaged. Massage is not considered painful, but the child may be anxious during manipulations, it is quite natural and should not cause much concern to the parents. Anxiety can be especially strong at the final stage of the session, when the mother, after completing the massage, drops the medical preparations prescribed by the ophthalmologist into the baby’s eyes. If there is pus, it is usually prescribed drops with antibiotics, if there is no pus, use antiseptic drops.

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

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

If a child has relapses of inflammation even after a course of treatment, massage may be prophylactic, but in this case it is recommended to be performed 1-2 times a day at the first signs of incipient relapse or daily.

Some useful tips will help to carry out the massage correctly and avoid complications:

• Do not use alcohol-containing liquids for eye treatment, do not compress eye eyes - this will increase inflammation.
• Avoid using ordinary cotton wool, even a sterile version, or a bandage for processing. Easily separated fibers of these materials can get into the eyes and aggravate the inflammatory process.
• Do not give your child drops and ointments in the eyes on their own. A specific tool should be recommended by a pediatrician or an oculist, otherwise a massage with subsequent use of an unauthorized medication can only harm the toddler.
• If the eyes do not fester, then in agreement with your doctor, you can do warm compresses for a short time after cleansing and before the massage (it is important that there is no suppuration!).
• It is not at all necessary to complete each massage session with instillation of drops or the laying of an ointment. Observe the multiplicity recommended by the doctor. If the drops are prescribed three times a day, and the massage is done 7 times, bury the drops through the session.
• Even if only one eye is sick, the prescribed drops are buried in both eyes. But at the same time you can only massage one eye affected by dacryocystitis.

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

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

Dacryomassage is not always desirable for certain anatomical abnormalities in the structure of the organs of vision of the baby. Such abnormalities are usually congenital, and the doctor will necessarily warn about the contraindications to massage in this case.

Parents who have treated dacryocystitis in infants or newborns with a lacrimal canal massage, claim that the procedure is safe and fairly effective. True, it is difficult to decide on it, but this is only the beginning.

Moms call home massage at home an excellent alternative to surgical sensing of the lacrimal canal. Nevertheless, many parents at thematic forums dedicated to children's health describe that the treatment was rather painful for both the massage therapist mother and the child. Mom is quite difficult to choose the correct trajectory of the movements of the fingers, and children can scream and be nervous during the massage.

Experienced mothers recommend imagining that fingers draw an inverted comma, this will be the correct trajectory, and the massage itself should be done before each feeding. Manipulations with crumbs of eyes after feeding lead to screaming and abundant regurgitation.

The reviews of those who were helped by the massage to cope with the problem without sensing were much more than the opinions of those who were not helped by the massage procedures and had to seek the help of a surgeon. But, nevertheless, there are negative reviews too. With them, the mother who has planned such a massage should be familiarized in order to be ready for any kind of development.

Many mothers say that It is very important to observe the massage technique and hygiene, otherwise it is very easy for the child to harm, infect the infection, worsen its condition, and injure the eyes.

Doctor Komarovsky will tell and show how to properly massage the lacrimal canal in the next video.