"Sticky eyes"; chronic greenish discharge from the eye; red, irritated skin with caked on gunk; or constant watering

These are all possible indicators that the tiny tube running from the tear drainage system in the eyelids, to the lower part of the nose, is narrowed or blocked somewhere in it's course. Such a blockage is known as a Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct obstruction, and is quite different than the blockage that may be acquired later in life.

Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction is common, 4-5% of infants will have it. This is due to the way that the small tube forms during fetal development, so that a small section of the tube fails to form it's intended lumen (space down the inside), or sometimes because the exit of the tube into the nose is blocked.

 Diagramatic representation of the right nasolacrimal duct.

1: small openings in the eyelids constantly allow tears to be cleared into the nasolacrimal system

2: A "sac" where these tears collect sits deep the skin at the corner of your eye, where it sits can be found by feeling for the little bony ridge there at the side of the nose

3: the nasolacrimal duct, travels down through bone and into the lining of the nose

4: the duct is usually blocked at it's far end , often as it enters the nose