What is a blocked tear duct?
This condition is called dacryostenosis or congenital (present at birth) lacrimal duct obstruction. Tears help clean and lubricate the eye and are produced in the lacrimal gland located under the bone of the eyebrow. Tears from the lacrimal gland go into the eye through tiny ducts along the eyelid. Tears drain through two small openings at the inner corner of the eyelids, then drain into a larger passage from the eye to the inside of the nose, called the nasolacrimal (tear) duct. In some babies, the openings into the nasolacrimal duct have not formed properly. This causes a blockage and the tears have no place to drain. A blocked tear duct can occur in one or both eyes. The blockage may be present at all times, or it may come and go.