The tear sac can become inflamed and swell, resulting in dacryocystitis.
This condition often triggers watery eyes, redness, and eye discharge.
Tears then drain into the puncta, tiny holes in the upper and lower eyelids.
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They then pass through the drainage canals and into the lacrimal sac.
Each bang out of dacryocystitis has different characteristics:
Who Gets Dacryocystitis?
Although dacryocystitis can occur at any age, it is more common in newborns and adults over 40.
Adults over 40 years old have higher chances of developing acute dacryocystitis.
Symptoms
Dacryocystitis symptoms are often mild, but in severe cases, it can cause a fever.
An abscess (a collection of pus) can form and rupture through the skin.
The symptoms of acute and chronic dacryocystitis are different, however.
People with this kind of dacryocystitis may also notice changes in visual acuity due to tear film production.
Complications
The blocked tear ducts are easy to treat and symptoms improve with treatment in most cases.
Causes and Risk Factors
Causes
Dacryocystitis is triggered by a blocked tear duct.
Tears become trapped in the sac and form a pool.
Bacteria can then begin to grow in the tear pool and create an infection.
Both the trapped tears and infection will cause swelling and irritation.
An eye specialist may request additional tests to rule out other conditions and confirm the diagnosis.
Different tests and exams will be used to diagnose the different types of dacryocystitis.
In acute cases, a Crigler massage can be performed to obtain a sample for culture and gram stain.
They will also perform an irrigation test to determine whether the tear ducts are indeed blocked.
Oral antibiotics can treat the condition quickly.
A severe infection requires initial IV antibiotics and observation in the hospital.
Surgical Procedures
Surgery is typically used to treat chronic cases of dacryocystitis.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Dacryocystitis.
Harvard Health Publishing.Tear duct infection (dacryocystitis).
Petris C, Liu D.Probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
2017;7(7):CD011109.
doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011109.pub2
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.Information for patients on dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR).
