Dacryocystitis
The tear apparatus is responsible for the production of tears and their respective drainage. Tears that occur in the lacrimal gland are drained through a small chamber called the lacrimal sac.
When tear ducts are infected, the tear sac becomes inflamed and what we know as dacryocystitis.
Dacryocystitis, depending on the type of infection, It may be acute or chronic and manifests in only one eye at a time. This condition is quite frequent and mostly affects newborn children, in which case it is known as congenital dacryocystitis.
Dacryocystitis
The tear apparatus is responsible for the production of tears and their respective drainage. Tears that occur in the lacrimal gland are drained through a small chamber called the lacrimal sac.
When tear ducts are infected, the tear sac becomes inflamed and what we know as dacryocystitis.
Dacryocystitis, depending on the type of infection, It may be acute or chronic and manifests in only one eye at a time. This condition is quite frequent and mostly affects newborn children, in which case it is known as congenital dacryocystitis.
What is dacryocystitis?
Dacryocystitis is the infection of the lacrimal sac which sometimes leads to formation of abscesses in the tear ducts. Usually, the bacteria in the infection cause the nasolacrimal duct obstruction, causing inflammation of the tear sac.
Dacryocystitis is unilateral and usually affects mainly newborn children who get some infection during childbirth or born with a congenital lesion in the tear ducts. The women between 50 and 60 years They are also more prone to suffer dacryocystitis.
Main symptoms
The main symptoms of dacryocystitis in adults are:
- Redness of the tear sac due to inflammation
- Inflammation and accumulation of fluid in the tear sac.
- Excessive tearing and constant.
- Pain on the inside of the eyelid
- Mucosal secretion.
- It can produce a conjunctivitis as a result of the infection.
- Abnormalities such as eyelid inflammation (Blepharitis).
Symptoms of dacryocystitis in newborn:
- Tearing constant.
- Crusts on the eyelid.
- Redness of the skin of the eyelid in the affected eye.
- Possible presence of a internal cyst as a result of inflammation of the tear sac.
- Pus in the eye.
- Redness of the conjunctiva eyepiece.
What are the causes?
Dacryocystitis is mostly caused by some blockage in the tear ducts which are responsible for connecting the lacrimal sac to the nasal cavity.
When these ducts become blocked, an accumulation of tears that stimulates the bacteria proliferation and trigger an infection. The bacteria that cause dacryocystitis are mostly staphylococcus or streptococcus.
Others factors that can cause dacryocystitis are:
- Nasal trauma.
- Blepharitis
- Conjunctivitis.
- Hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate.
- Presence of polyps.
Acute or chronic dacryocystitis, how are they different?
Una dacryocystitis can be chronic or acute depending on the chronology of the infection. Let's see:
- La acute dacryocystitis It is characterized as an inflammation that it causes a lot of pain and that it must be treated quickly to control the annoying symptoms and avoid complications in the patient's vision. When a person has acute dacryocystitis develops inflammation within a few hours, accumulation of liquid y pain. The area surrounding the tear sac is very flushed, tear y secret pus.
- La chronic dacryocystitis it is much milder than acute and therefore it doesn't cause so much pain. Your symptoms are tearing, redness y secretions product of the proliferation of bacteria in the tear sac. In newborns dacryocystitis may be caused because the tear duct is narrower than normal, which is considered a congenital condition.
Transmission
The treatment for dacryocystitis will depend on the cause of infection and of if this is chronic or acute.
La acute dacryocystitis it's about through the antibiotic intake, anti-inflammatory y analgesics prescribed exclusively by the ophthalmologist.
The antibiotic can be taken orally and, depending on the patient's condition, it may be necessary to administer it intravenously. If a person with acute dacryocystitis does not respond to treatment or develops a tear duct abscess it will be necessary to attend to the condition through surgery.
Many people who suffer from poorly treated acute dacryocystitis end up with a chronic dacryocystitisIn these cases, the best treatment to avoid recurring discomfort is to practice a surgical intervention.
The most common procedure to treat dacryocystitis is to perform a called surgery dacryocystorhinostomy, which consists of creating a new duct that allows to drain the accumulation of liquid, tears and bacteria within the tear ducts and the lacrimal sac.
Dacryocystorhinostomy can be combined with another surgical technique called dacryocystectomy, which consists of removing the lacrimal sac. We recommend this combination of surgical techniques to treat dacryocystitis for those patients with a higher incidence of the disease.
When the dacryocystitis Presents itself in a newborn less aggressive procedures such as tear sac pressure to cause its drainage. If the disease persists, it will be necessary to place a tear duct probe To drain the tears
