The sudden increase of eye mucus and tears is a "signal" of tear duct disease. Don't let dacryocystitis turn from chronic to acute

In the outpatient clinic, many patients come to see a doctor because of increased eye mucus and a significant decrease in vision. Most of them believe that this is a normal physiological reaction to "aging", and thus ignore treatment, which leads to worsening of the condition.

Increased eye mucus and tears are signs of tear duct disease

But in fact, a sudden increase in eye mucus and tears may be a sign of tear duct disease.

Dacryocystitis is a type of tear duct disease, which can be divided into acute dacryocystitis and chronic dacryocystitis, with chronic being more common. In order to protect the eyeball and moisten the conjunctiva, the lacrimal glands secrete a certain amount of tears every time you blink, and the excess tears enter the nasal cavity through the upper and lower lacrimal puncta.

Normally, the secretion, storage and discharge of tears maintain a dynamic balance. When the tear duct is blocked, tears cannot reach the nasal cavity smoothly and all gather in the lacrimal sac. At this time, the lacrimal sac is like a "stagnant lake", where bacteria can easily breed, leading to mucosal infection and the production of mucus or purulent secretions. Over time, chronic dacryocystitis will form.

Don’t let dacryocystitis turn from chronic to acute

In the early stage of chronic dacryocystitis, there are usually no discomfort symptoms such as pain, redness and swelling of the skin, and the impact on vision is not significant, so it is easy to be ignored. Once chronic dacryocystitis has an acute attack, or highly virulent bacteria directly cause acute dacryocystitis, the lacrimal sac will become red, swollen, hot, and painful, and may even spread to the lower eyelid, the root of the nose, the cheek, and the front of the ear. At the same time, it will also be accompanied by symptoms such as general discomfort, fever, and leukocytosis.

If not treated in time, the abscess will grow larger until the skin can no longer bear it and ruptures, with pus overflowing. Not only will it leave scars on the face, but the pus containing a large amount of bacteria will also cause lesions in the skin around the eyes.

Dacryocystitis requires surgery

Currently, surgery is the only way to treat dacryocystitis. The use of antibiotic eye drops has little effect because the tear duct is blocked by secretions and the eye drops cannot enter the tear sac.

Zhang Jiang, director of the National Ophthalmic Endoscopic Diagnosis and Treatment Technology Evaluation Committee, associate chief physician, and director of the tear duct/eye and nose related department of the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei Headquarters), reminds everyone that if you find abnormal conditions such as unexplained tears or increased secretions in the corners of the eyes, you should go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible and not be careless.