Eye Watering in Children

Persistent watering of the eyes (epiphora) is one of the most common reasons parents bring infants and young children to our clinic. In many cases, it is caused by a blocked or underdeveloped tear duct (nasolacrimal duct obstruction), which prevents tears from draining normally into the nose and causes them to overflow onto the cheek instead.

Our assessment includes checking for signs of infection, examining the tear drainage pathway, and ruling out other causes such as eyelid abnormalities or, rarely, elevated eye pressure. Many infants with a blocked tear duct improve on their own within the first year of life with simple conservative measures such as lacrimal sac massage, which we teach parents to perform correctly at home. If the watering persists beyond the age where it would typically resolve, or if there are recurrent infections, timely procedures such as probing may be recommended — always explained clearly before any intervention.