Overview
A blocked tear duct is a condition that happens when something keeps tear fluid from draining out of your eyes properly. These blockages slow or stop the flow of tear fluid, causing it to back up in the tear duct system and into your affected eye. The medical term for this condition is “nasolacrimal duct obstruction.”
Your eyes need tear fluid to work properly. Your tear fluid lubricates the surface of your eye and helps your corneas absorb oxygen. Tear fluid also contains immune factors that protect against, or help your eyes recover from, infections.
You can think of your tear system like the gutters and downspouts on a house. The gutters channel water toward the downspout. But a blockage or clog in the downspout can make water back up and spill over the gutters’ edges.
The tear duct system is a series of openings and tubelike structures. The route that tear fluid follows to leave your eyes is:
- The puncta. Each eye has two puncta (the term for just one is “punctum”), one on your upper eyelid and another on the lower. They’re like the drain in a sink or bathtub, letting tear fluid flow out and into the canaliculi.
- The canaliculi. Each punctum drains into a canaliculus (the term for more than one is “canaliculi”). These canaliculi (pronounced “can-al-ICK-yew-lye”) merge and form a single tube before draining into the nasolacrimal ducts.
- The nasolacrimal ducts. The nasolacrimal (pronounced “nay-zo-LACK-rim-al”) ducts are the final tubelike areas that tear fluid travels through. At the bottom of each tear duct, there should be a valve.
- The valve of Hasner. This valve is just an opening that lets tear fluid drain into your nasal passages. Normally, it opens on its own before you’re born. But some babies have a valve that hasn’t opened yet. If it isn’t open, it’s called the membrane of Hasner.
How common are tear duct blockages?
Tear duct blockages are common in very young children, affecting between 6% and 20% of infants. They’re much less common in adults.
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Complications
- High blood pressure.
- Diabetes.
- Heart failure.
- Some types of heart valve disease.
Prevention
- Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
- Don't smoke or use tobacco.
- Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
- Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Reduce and manage stress.
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