Drooping eyelid syndrome: symptoms, medications, etc. • hello healthy

Definition

What is drooping eyelid syndrome?

Floppy Eyelid Syndrome (FES), also known as drooping eyelid syndrome, is a condition in which the upper eyelid loses elasticity, causing it to become loose and "drooping". As a result, the upper eyelid folds up easily.

The affected eye may experience dryness, redness, chronic irritation, discharge, and infection. If left untreated, corneal ulceration and scarring can occur, leading to loss of vision.

In addition to the potential for damage to the eye, this condition is associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) , a condition that has the potential to cause serious things. These conditions can cause an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure, heart arrhythmias, and glaucoma.

How common is this condition?

Floppy eyelid syndrome is a fairly rare medical condition. Everyone from the age of 25-80 years can be affected by this condition, but most sufferers are aged 40-50 years.

Although both men and women can be affected, men are more susceptible to drooping eyelid syndrome than women.

Symptoms

What are the symptoms of drooping eyelid syndrome?

The characteristics and symptoms of floppy eyelid syndrome are:

• The lids are easy to turn / fold up, loosen, and feel rubbery
• Red eyes every time you wake up
• Chronic inflammation of the cornea
• Chronic inflammation of the joint under the upper eyelid (also called superior palpebral conjunctiva)
• Experiencing symptoms obstructive sleep apnea , such as sleepiness during the day, and snoring during sleep.

The drooping eyelid syndrome almost always occurs in obese patients. Other related activities include eyelid rubbing, keratoconus, hyperglycemia, and sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially fatal condition that should be examined in patients with this condition. It is important to discuss with your doctor the relationship between the two conditions.

There may be symptoms not listed above. Consult your doctor for information about other symptoms.

Cause

What causes

Quoted from the American International Medical University, other causes of this condition are:

Decreased amount of elastin

Research has shown a decrease in the amount of elastin in the thasal plate and the skin of the eyelids due to repeated mechanical stress. Patients with drooping eyelid syndrome usually sleep face down with their eyes pressed against a pillow. This is what causes drooping eye syndrome.

Eyelid contact with the eyeball

Eyelid contact with the eyeball in conjunction with abnormalities of the meibomian gland and tear film, may be associated with this syndrome.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea does not cause floppy eyelid syndrome directly, but the two conditions are related.

Triggers

Who is at risk for this condition?

There are several things that can increase your risk of developing floppy eyelid syndrome, namely:

• Obesity
• Obstructive sleep apnea: there is a close relationship between these two conditions
• The habit of rubbing your eyes frequently
• Diabetes mellitus
• Hypertension
• Hyperthyroidism
• Sleeping on his stomach
• Down syndrome

It is important to remember that having risk factors does not mean that a person will definitely get drooping eyelid syndrome. Risk factors increase a person's chances of getting the condition, compared to individuals without risk factors.

Not having a risk factor does not mean that a person will not get the condition. It is important to discuss the influence of risk factors on your health condition with your doctor.

Diagnosis

How doctors diagnose this condition?

Floppy eyelid syndrome is diagnosed by the following methods:

• Eye examination
• Check your sleep habits, for example your favorite position during sleep, whether you have trouble sleeping or not, whether you are often sleepy during the day, and whether you often snore (snoring)
• Medical history examination including presence or absence obstructive sleep apnea or other health conditions

Many other diseases exhibit the same symptoms. Here are other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of drooping eyelid syndrome:

• Blefaritis
• Allergic conjunctivitis
• Atopic keratoconjunctivitis
• Superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis
• Ptosis
• Giant papillary conjunctivitis
• Contact lens complications
• Dermatochalasis
• Ectropion

Because of this, your doctor may ask you to do tests to determine whether your symptoms are caused by floppy eyelid syndrome or by another condition.

Treatment

The information below cannot be used as a substitute for a medical consultation. ALWAYS consult your doctor for information about medications.

How to solve drooping eyelid syndrome?

Various ways to deal with floppy eyelid syndrome include:

• Overcoming conditions obstructive sleep apnea first, if any
• Using a special eye ointment before bed to protect the ocular surface
• Tapping your eyelids before going to bed to prevent your eyelids from folding while sleeping
• Wearing an eye patch while sleeping to prevent conjunctiva and exposure cornea during sleep
• Sometimes surgery is needed to shorten or tighten the eyelids.

Drooping eyelid syndrome can get worse, due to the loss of elastin in the tarsal plate (connective tissue that involves the eyelids). However, the complications of this condition can be treated effectively and further damage is avoided.

This can happen if eyelid syndrome is diagnosed early and treated promptly with medical assistance.

Complications

What complications might this condition have?

Here are the complications that may occur due to floppy eyelid syndrome:

• Keratoconus, where the cornea forms a cone, if caused by rubbing the eye.
• Chronic papillary conjunctivitis, which is the conjunctiva under the upper eyelid, which results in chronic inflammation.
• Punctate epithelial eruption, which is superficial inflammation of the cornea due to exposure to air during sleep due to deteriorating eyelid function.
• Exposure keratopathy, which is a more severe, chronic inflammation of the cornea, due to exposure to air during sleep from poor eyelid function.
• Dry eye syndrome, which is when the decreased function of the eyelids interferes with the blinking process.

Prevention

What can be done to prevent drooping eyelid syndrome?

The following things can be done so that you don't experience floppy eyelid syndrome:

• Running a healthy diet to prevent obesity
• Sleep on your side or on your back to prevent mechanical trauma to the eye from sleeping on your stomach
• If you have obstructive sleep apnea , handle it immediately

Please consult your doctor for more information.

Hello Health Group does not provide medical consultation, diagnosis or treatment.