When eyelashes get in the way: how to cure a torsion of the eyelid

Eyes – it is a unique and one of the most important organs of the human body. It is the eyes that allow a person to most informatively explore the world around him, navigate in it and protect himself from impending danger. Vision – it is a gift that nature has not awarded every living being. Sometimes it happens that people are born blind, and, of course, their opportunities as a result of this are very limited. That is why eye health should be given due attention. One of the rare, but quite serious diseases that affect a person’s vision is eyelid inversion. More about this pathology tells estet-portal.com.

Clinical presentation and methods of treatment of torsion of the eyelid

Inversion of the eyelid or entropion – This is an ophthalmic disease in which the lower eyelid is wrapped inwards. Along the edge of the anterior surface of the lower eyelid, there are sebaceous glands and eyelashes, which, when the eyelid turns, come into contact with the conjunctiva  eyeball and cornea. Such constant contact is a mechanical irritation and damage to the eye, resulting in a characteristic clinical picture, and the function of the eye can significantly deteriorate, up to complete loss of vision. The only effective treatment for torsion of the eyelid is surgery.

Inverted eyelid:

• etiology of eyelid inversion: main causes;
• characteristic clinical picture of torsion of the eyelid;
• Effective treatments for eyelid torsion.

Etiology of eyelid inversion: main causes;

The following reasons can lead to the occurrence of such a pathological condition as torsion of the eyelid:

• congenital pathology – occurs in utero, as a result of impaired development of the eyeball and facial muscles;
• age changes – with age, the muscles of the face that hold the eyelid in a normal position lose their tone, and the skin stretches. As a result of this, the eyelid can take a pathological position in the form of a twist. In this case, the pathology is usually observed on both eyelids;
• skin changes that occur after previous injuries in the eye area can lead to eyelid volvulus;
• Neoplasms in the eye area are also one of the causes of pathology. In this case, the torsion is formed as a result of the germination of the tissues of the eyelid by tumor cells.

Characteristic clinical picture of torsion of the eyelid

The clinical picture of the inversion of the eyelid is quite pronounced, since the irritation of the conjunctiva and cornea occurs constantly, and significantly increases with blinking. The patient complains of a foreign body sensation in the eye, painful sensations when blinking, photophobia. There is redness of the eye, swelling of the tissues of the eyelid. As a result of a violation of the normal outflow of tears along the lacrimal brook, the patient complains of lacrimation. Over time, the symptoms of the pathology intensify, the patient's condition worsens. With the prolonged existence of the disease and constant irritation of the cornea with the eyelashes wrapped inward, it becomes cloudy and the vessels grow into the corneal tissue. The result of these processes is a significant deterioration in vision in the affected eye.

Effective treatments for torsion of the eyelid

The only effective treatment for torsion of the eyelid is surgery. It is necessary to carry out the operation as early as possible, since over time there is a significant deterioration in vision, which is very problematic to restore. A transverse tarsotomy is performed, in which a through eyelid incision is made a few millimeters below the screwed edge of the eyelashes. Then the eyelid is turned outward and fixed with sutures in the correct position. You can do without surgery only when only a few eyelashes are wrapped inside. In this case, the problem can be solved with the help of epilation.