Baby Eye Discharge

As an experienced pediatric ophthalmologist in Orange County, Dr. Golareh Fazilat sees babies and older children for a wide range of eye issues. One of the common concerns seen from parents is baby eye discharge.

What causes baby eye discharge?

Eye discharge in babies is not always a cause for concern. While sometimes discharge can indicate a type of infection, it is also very common in newborns due to blocked tear ducts. This is because your baby is born with underdeveloped tear ducts, making it difficult for tears to properly drain.

If your baby has a consistent pooling of tears in their eye or sticky eye mucus (which usually causes the eyelashes to stick together), blocked tear ducts may be to blame. However, if the discharge is yellow or green, or if there is any swelling or redness around the eye, an infection might be present.