LO's eyes watering and eyelids getting shut

Lynette, Most likely it is a blocked tear duct. This is fairly common in infants and will resolve by itself when they are 6-9 months old. My LO (almost 9 months) had this. Eye drops are for infections (conjuctivitis) and it does not help the blocked duct. My ped says the eye drops or eye antibiotics (Erythromycin) are needed only if there is yellowish mucusy discharge and the eyes are matted shut - meaning there is infection. The exercise your ped recommended is the right thing to do. Do this everyday with a clean fingertip. The crust accumulated at the tip can be washed away with a clean wet washcloth.

 

Agreeing with what Pavarun posted here. I have also noticed that DS had it worse, if he had been a little more unhappy and crying the previous day and also if he had runny nose.
Aim for the spot from which the tears come, that's where the nasolacrimal duct opening is. If the eye is crusted shut, use a cotton ball dipped in boiled, cooled water (tepid) and wipe the crust away from the lashes, like how you would apply mascara.
Breastmilk is a great idea, for us, it always cleared up a couple of days after I started applying BM in a dropper. Hope that helps.

 

Pavarun is right. This sounds like a blocked tear duct issue to me, too.

My DD had a severe problem and my pediatrician explained it to me as follows: All of us make tears, which are then drained away from our eyes by tear or nasolacrimal ducts into the nasal cavity. Sometimes, however, a small flap of membrane hangs over and covers the ducts, preventing the tears from entering the ducts and draining out of the eyes. Think of it as 'blocked' plumbing. When a pipe is blocked, water cannot move freely through it and floods / pools in the pipe. Similarly, when a tear duct is blocked, the eyes are 'flooded' with tears, resulting in tear filled / crusty / shut eyes etc.

On my pediatrician's recommendation, I massaged the sides of my DD's nose (nearest to the inner corners of the eyes) twice a day, for 15 mins each session. This helped a little bit and reduced crust build-up to some extent for some time (5 - 10 mos), but the problem returned more severely when she was around 11 months old. Since the issue was worsening, instead of resolving itself, she had to have surgery at 13 months of age, to permanently get rid of the membrane that was closing off her ducts. While it was fairly simple & straight forward, you should avoid surgery if you possibly can. Keep massaging your child's ducts and the problem may resolve itself.

Good luck!