Entropion

Entropion (en-TROW-pee-on) is an abnormal inward turning of an eyelid – usually the lower lit – toward the eyeball.  From this position, the eyelashes can rub against the eyeball.  The rubbing is irritating, and if it continues for long can result in corneal scratches, abrasions, ulcerations and infections.  If a corneal ulcer or other serious complication should develop, it is likely to be painful and could significantly impair your vision. 

Symptoms

The lashes brushing against your eye can make it feel scratchy and gritty, as if a foreign particle were in it.  It may also feel watery most of the time.  Many patients seem to get caught in the vicious cycle that makes the condition worse: as the irritated eye waters, they wipe it with a tissue, which causes more irritation and more spasm of the muscles that pulls the lid in against the eyeball, which causes more irritation and watering. 

What Causes an Entropion?

As people get older, the attachments of the muscles that move the eyelids up and down loosen, to the point that the lids no longer fit snugly against the eyeball.  Without the firm anchoring of the muscle attachments, the lids and lashes may roll inward. 

Treatment

Any eye infection (which makes an entropion temporarily worse) will be treated with eye drops or ointment.  At the same time, the lid will be taped shut to stop the eyelashes from rubbing against the eyeball.  An anesthetic may be injected in to the lid to paralyze the muscle that rolls the eyelid inward.

If you have chronic corneal irritation or ulceration that can endanger sight, plastic surgery will be necessary to remove excess tissues and tighten some parts of the lid.  This will get the eyelashes away from the eyeball and relieve the irritation.  To help keep the eye moist, you may need to use eye drops and ointments after surgery. 

Sometimes the entropion recurs as the tissues continue to age and lose elasticity, and surgery may again become necessary to solve the problem.