Q: I have a son aged 1 years, 9 months. Both his eyes remain watery, left one more than the right. I consulted a child specialist and also an eye specialist. They feel that the nasal passage from the eye needs to be probed as during the first few months massaging was not done. What may be the problem? Any advice will be helpful before going in for the operation.

A:The child appears to be suffering from congenital obstruction of the naso-lacrimal ducts (Left > Right). The initial treatment of this condition is lacrimal sac massage, which is successful in more than 90% children during the first year of life. If the problem persists beyond this age, an attempt at probing and syringing (a minor surgery) under general anaesthesia to manually open up the passage must be made. This can be done upto 2-3 times. If this fails repeatedly, major surgery may be contemplated.