What Can I Do About Watery Eyes?
- Posted on: Nov 15 2022
Having watery eyes can be a nuisance. Not understanding the cause behind it can make it more frustrating. Before you reach for the allergy medicine, there may be a hidden culprit behind your leaky-eyed misery. Blocked tear ducts can cause improper eye drainage, leading to various symptoms.
But watery eyes don’t have to keep you reaching for the tissues for too long because several treatments may help bring you relief.
One of the most innovative treatments for blocked tear ducts is the Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) procedure. Here are a few points on how it works and if it may be your best treatment option.
What Is DCR?
The DCR treatment is a procedure that helps restore your eyes’ tear flow to normal. The design of the surgery is to create a new path for your tears to flow correctly and unclog troublesome tear ducts.
There are two methods of completing the surgery, and both require minimally invasive strategies. The first tactic for completing the DCR treatment is an endoscopic procedure. An endoscopic DCR involves your doctor creating a new opening directly under the blocked lacrimal sac that flows through your nasal cavity.
To ensure the new duct stays open, your doctor may insert a “Jones tube,” a small tube that doesn’t allow the incision to close.
The other method of completing a DCR surgery is an external DCR. Rather than using endoscopic guidance through the nasal cavity, this procedure involves a small incision in the skin between your eye and nose, creating a path between your lacrimal sac and your nasal cavity and forming a new tear duct. Similar to the endoscopic DCR, your doctor may insert a “Jones tube” to keep the incision from closing.
How Long Is The Recovery?
The DCR procedure can look different for everyone. Most patients can go home the same day once their procedure is finished. At this point, your doctor can provide instructions to manage any post-operative bleeding you may experience over the following days. Most patients report that they make a full recovery after about two weeks.
If your water eyes have been giving you trouble, Dr. Tarbet’s office can help.
To find out of a DCR procedure may be the proper treatment for you, call our Bellevue office today at 425-455-2131 to schedule a consultation.
Posted in: DCR (Blocked Tear Duct)