Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Inflamed tear duct

I went to the opthamologist last week because of a watery left eye and tenderness next to the inside of my eye i.e. beside my nose, that didn't respond to antihistamine or regular use of artificial tears. Turns out I had an inflamed tear duct that wasn't draining properly. He kind of prised it a bit open and flushed it, but after just a few days it's watering like it was before.

Does anyone have any advice about what I should do, whether I should go back to the opthamologist or whether I should just put up with it? It's a relatively minor annoyance compared to the pain I'm having from the AS etc.

Shirley,

I often have trouble with clogged tear ducts. My opthamologist suggested washing my eyes out with Johnson's baby shampoo. It supposedly cuts the oils that clog the tear ducts and is gentle enough to wash the tear duct area without discomfort. She did specify to buy the brand name. It seems to work pretty well. It was recommended to use it twice a day when you are having problems. I will occasionally use it to wash my eyes just as a precaution when I think about it. Hopefully this will give you some relief.

Thanks onlywhenilaugh. Definitely not something I would have thought of!

Shirley, I forgot to mention warm compresses. You might already know this. It also helps to clear oils from tear ducts. I just bought a cheap hot/cold pack that can go in freezer or microwave.

Thanks again. I have sometimes soaked a facecloth in hottish watee and pressed that against my closed eyes I guess that's kind of like a warm compress?

I ended up emailing my opthamologist as the watery eye was annoying me and the warm facecloth thing didn't seem to be helping. His receptionist tells me he's faxed a prescription to my pharmacy for Flucon drops (a type of steroid eye drop).

Another day another specialist... My tear duct is still swollen and inflamed. Ongoing flucon drops are helping to manage it in the meantime, but I was referred to the ENT who did my sinus surgery years ago to check whether it might be related to my nose or sinuses. Saw him yesterday and things look ok from the nose end, so next step is some imaging of the tear duct system. Turns out he does tear duct surgery, hoping it won't come to that.

Shirly,


Sorry you are still having issues with your eye. Hope you find a resolution to the problem soon.

Hi, reporting back on the tear duct for future reference. Nuclear and CT scans confirmed that the problematic tear duct is bloocked and there is no medical treatment and the only options are to put up with a permanently watery eye or have surgery to make a new path for the tears to drain.

I said I'd leave it for a bit as I'm still recovering from bacterial and viral infections etc and am currently out of sick leave as well and it would involve a few days off.

That's a bummer, Shirley.