Treating watering eyes

Treatment for watering eyes isn't always necessary. Treatment depends on how severe the problem is and what's causing it.

Measures you can try yourself

If the underlying cause is Dry eye syndrome ,try avoidingreading, watching TV and using a computer you're likely to blink less during these activities, which can make symptoms worse.

The use of lubricating eye drops can help ease the discomfort of dry eye. These can be bought over the counter from a pharmacy and your healthcare professional can advise which product is best for you.

It might help to holda warm, damp, clean cloth over the affected eye for five minutes and at the same time, gently massage your eyelids with the cloth to loosen any material that might be blocking the eyeglands.

Medication

If a bacterialinfection such as conjunctivitis is causing watering eyes, your GP may prescribe a course of antibiotics . If they suspect a virus is the cause, you may be advised to wait for a week or so to see if it resolves itself.

If your eyes are watering because of an allergy, antihistamine medication may be prescribed to help reduce the inflammation.

Minor procedure

In cases where irritation is caused by an inward-growing eyelash or a foreign object, such as a piece of grit, these can be removed by your GP or eye specialist.

If your lower eyelid rolls inwards ( entropion ) or sags outwards ( ectropion ), a minor operation carried out under local anaesthetic may be recommended. The most common procedure involves tightening the tendon that holds the outer eyelid in place to give it extra support.See the page on treating ectropion for more information.

Surgery for blocked tear ducts

Tear ductsallowexcess tears to drain away. If a blocked tear duct is causing watering eyes, it can be treated with surgery.

If you have an infection in your tear sac (where excess tears from your eyes drain into), it will need to be treated with antibiotics first, before surgery. Left untreated, the infection could spread to your eye socket.

Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR)

Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is a common surgical procedure used to treat blocked tear ducts. It involves creating a new channel from the tear sac to the inside of your nose. This channel allows tears to bypass the blocked part of your tear duct.

Surgery generally involves removing a very small piece of bone from the side of your nose, allowing the tear sac to drain directly into the nasal cavity. This can be done externally, starting with a small incision in the skin on the side of your nose, or from inside the nose using an endoscope . An endoscope is a narrow, flexible tube with a light at the end.

A very thin silicone tube isoften inserted to keep the channel open. Within a few months, the tube will be removed and the channel should stay open without it.

The DCR procedure is carried out either under general anaesthetic or underlocal anaesthetic with some sedation, and takes up to an hour to perform.

If the tear duct is not blocked, but just narrowed,a thin tube with a small balloon at the end (a balloon catheter) can sometimes be used towiden it.

Most DCR surgery is carried out as a day case procedure, which means you can go home the same day. You will be given instructions to follow when you are discharged for example, not to blow your nose forone week after surgery. You may also be given some eye drops or ointment to use to prevent infection and inflammation, as well as a nasal spray.

There could be some bruising and swelling around your nose and eye, which should improve over a few days or weeks. You may also experience nosebleeds for a few days.

Blocked canaliculi

If the drainage channels on the inside of your eye (canaliculi)are completely blocked by tears, an operation to drain them may be required. Thisusually involves inserting a small glass tube (called a Lester Jones Tube) to drain the tears.

Treating watering eyes in babies

Watering eyes oftenimprove in babies without the need for treatment.

Massaging the tear ducts may help to dislodge tears that have collected in the upper part of your babys tear duct, as well as encouraging the tear duct to develop. This can be done by applying light pressure with your first (index) finger and massaging from the corner of your babys eye towards their nose.Repeat the massage several times a day for a couple of months. Before massaging, wash your hands.

You can also soak a cloth with warm water and hold it against your babys eye. This may encourage the tears to drain. If your baby has an eye infection (conjunctivitis),this may need to be treated with antibiotic eye drops.

Probing

In9 out of 10 cases, the tear duct opens by itself before your baby is one year old. However, if your child is over a year old or has repeated infections caused by the blocked tear duct,a procedure may be recommended to open their tear duct using a probe. This will be carried out under general anaesthetic. Only a very small number of babies with watering eyes require this type of treatment.

Very occasionally, a DCR operation is required (see above).