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Red, sticky & watery eyes
Blocked tear ducts, discharge and irritation: what settles on its own and what needs a look.
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Blocked tear ducts: what's normal, what's not
A watery, gunky eye in a young baby is almost always plumbing, not infection. How to tell the difference, the massage that genuinely helps, and a kind word about the breast milk advice from your mother-in-law.
Key takeaways
- More than 5% of babies have a watery or sticky eye from a blocked tear duct, in one eye or in both.
- About 90% clear on their own during the first year, without any procedure at all.
- Firm downward pressure with a finger over the inner corner of the eye helps clear mucus and open the membrane inside the duct.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Blocked tear ducts: what's normal, what's not
Most clear on their own by the first birthday, helped along by one gentle massage.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Pink eye in children: which kind is it, and what to do
A red sticky eye at 7am: how to tell what kind it is, and what needs a doctor.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Styes and chalazia: the little lump on your child's eyelid
The lump looks dramatic. Nearly always it is a small blocked gland, and there is a calm plan for it.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Why your child's bottom lashes keep brushing her eye
A lower-lid fold tips soft baby lashes inward, not the lid itself. Often there from birth, often nothing at all, and here is what actually helps.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Sore, crusty eyelids in a child that keep coming back
Drops that work for a fortnight, then it returns. What recurring crusty lids in a child actually are.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Ketumbit is not from peeping: where a stye really comes from
Not peeping, and not dirty hands either. What a ketumbit really is, and what actually clears it.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Breast milk in a sticky eye: what the evidence says
Ancient advice with real research behind it, and one fact about a newborn's eye that settles it.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Red eyes after swimming: infection or chlorine?
Is it the chlorine or has she caught something? Which eye, how fast, and what comes out of it will usually tell you.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
The itch that never goes away: allergic eyes in children
If it itches, it is usually allergy. What stops the rubbing, and when it needs a specialist.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Little pearly bumps on your child's eyelid: molluscum, and why the eye can stay red
A pearly little bump on the lash line can be the hidden reason one eye stays red for weeks.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
A bright red patch on the white of your child's eye
A patch of solid red on the white of the eye, appearing overnight. Nearly always a burst small vessel, not an injury inside the eye.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Eyelid eczema in children: the red, cracked skin around the eyes
Red, dry, sometimes cracked skin around the eyes is usually a skin problem, not an eye problem, and it has its own gentle care routine.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
After the tear duct probing: what recovery at home looks like
Blood-tinged tears, the swimming rule that is shorter than you think, and the signs that mean call today.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Sakit mata at tadika or taska: how long must my child stay home?
Three official answers. Here is where they differ, and what to ask the centre.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Dry, gritty eyes in a hot spell: air-con, screens and my child's eyes
Air-con, screens and a hot, dry spell. What helps, and what needs a doctor.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Does pink eye need antibiotic drops? What decides it
Viral, bacterial or allergic, what the trials found, and the red flags.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
A sticky or red eye in a newborn: blocked tear duct or infection?
Blocked tear duct or newborn eye infection: the clues, the home care and the same-day signs.
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