There are a variety of diseases that affect the muscles of the eye and eyelid. Some of these conditions are ocular manifestations of systemic diseases, while other conditions may be genetic. Double vision and droopy lids are symptoms of many of...
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disorder that occurs predominantly in young women. SLE causes inflammation and damage in different areas of the body and is a disease of flare-ups and remissions. Treatment typically involves...
Dry eyes can be caused by different diseases, problems in the eyelid anatomy or the environment. Another cause of dry eyes is medications--some medications that are prescribed for certain systemic conditions may have dry eye as a side effect. When...
Having dry eyes can be uncomfortable or painful. People with the problem may experience a stinging, gritty or burning sensation because their eyes are not producing enough tears or are producing poor-quality tears. It's a common eye condition and...
The eye consists of an eyelid, eyelashes, muscles, nerves, the eyeball, cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, iris, pupil, lens and retina--all subject to disorders and diseases. Symptoms range from itching and irritation to partial or complete blindness....
When a child's eyelid droops, she has a condition referred to as ptosis, and the prolapse can last a lifetime. When a child is born with this condition, the eyelid is mostly stable and will not worsen throughout her life. The eyelid is unlike any...
An infected tear duct swells with fluid, creating a sty on the eyelid. This swollen, red bump is sensitive to touch and can occur in individuals of all ages, although certain behaviors increase the risk of experiencing a sty. For example, sleeping...
Ptosis is a condition of the eyelids often referred to as a "droopy eyelid." The muscles of the upper lid cannot pull tight enough, and, as a result, cannot lift the lid to a fully raised position. Due to the low position of the eyelid, ptosis may...
Trichiasis, or an ingrown eyelash, is a potentially serious condition that causes eyelashes to grow toward your eye rather than outward. According to the Baptist Eye Surgeons, an eye disorder clinic located in Knoxville, Tennessee, chronic...
Puffy eyelids are a common problem for women. Hormone levels--in flux during menstruation and pregnancy, as well as times of emotional stress--can cause eyelids to swell. Diseases that affect the heart and kidneys also cause bloating in the...
Progressive supranuclear Palsy, or PSP, is a rare neurodegenerative disease sometimes referred to as the Steele-Richardson-Olszewski Syndrome for the physicians who first described it in 1964. Approximately five to six individuals per 100,000 will...
Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that causes muscle weakness, often affecting the eyelids first. This disease occurs most commonly in women younger than 40 and men older than 60, but it can occur at any age. A number of...
Floppy eyelid syndrome can cause chronic eye discomfort in one or both eyes. A number of factors appear to work together to cause floppy eyelid syndrome, which can affect young children as well as adults, Doctor of Optometry Amy Joachim reports on...
The avian flu virus, or "bird flu" as it is also referred to, has gained notoriety in recent years as a result of fears it could lead to a global pandemic, according to experts in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World...
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a disease of the neurons that control voluntary muscle function. While uncommon, ALS is a progressive and fatal condition whose causes have not been identified. Early...
Despite popular belief, dark circles under the eyes usually are not due to exhaustion or serious illness, research at the Mayo Clinic suggests. Rather, as Dr. Tom Meek of the American Academy of Dermatology told The New York Times, they may just...
Many diseases cause skin discoloration; the reasons for the discoloration are just as varied. A change in pigmentation can be the result of an accumulation of protein deposits in your skin, inflammation, the excessive release of hormones or from...
Dry eyes occur when the tear film that coats the eye loses fluid. A number of different conditions in the eye cause water loss from the tear film. Increased tear evaporation or decreased tear production, environmental irritation, autoimmune...
Your thyroid gland, located in your neck, provides the hormones necessary to many metabolic processes in your body. Poor gland function, secreting too much or too little, may cause a thyroid disease. This condition can affect your eyes, and this...
Bags under the eyes can add years to your appearance and make you look like you haven't slept in days. If you have noticed the skin underneath your eyes looking puffy, it may be caused by age, heredity or fluid retention in the eye area, says the...
Muscle diseases in a newborn are serious; some cases are life-threatening. Several types of neuromuscular diseases and disorders exist. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is the most common; it affects one in every 14,000 births, according to...
Lower eyelids can swell because of many diseases and conditions of the eye, along with many system-wide illnesses and conditions. Eyelid puffiness or inflammation can be a symptom of a minor irritation or a disease that potentially threatens...
Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease in which white blood cells attack the thyroid gland and cause the gland to release more thyroid hormone. Graves' eye disease--also known as Graves' ophthalmopathy--occurs when these white cells attack the...
Newborns may have eye conditions appear shortly after birth. A common symptom, yellow discharge, may appear after a few days or weeks. In some infants, the discharge will clear and not require further thought from exhausted new parents. In some...
An infant cannot tell her parent about eye discomfort or other early signs of an eye problem, so you need to watch for visible signs of a condition. Swollen eyelids, one of the most visible indicators, may accompany other symptoms such as redness,...
By virtue of its exposure to the outside world, the eye is potentially at risk for many bacterial infections. The eye does have built in protection from bacteria, from eye lashes to the ocular immune system. Eyelashes can help stop bacterial cells...
Eyelashes typically grow outward, away from the globe of the eye. When lashes grow inward instead, the result is a painful condition called ingrown eyelashes, or trichiasis. The person may notice ingrown eyelashes scattered across one of his...
High cholesterol puts patients at risk for a variety of health complications, including heart disease, which is the United States' leading cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says that 16.3 percent...
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, which is the clear vascular covering of the sclera and the eyelids. Infectious conjunctivitis can be caused by either bacterial or viral infection; however, viral conjunctivitis often is...