You don’t need to live with a drooping eyelid!

May 15, 2024

If one (or both) of your eyelids are drooping, it’s probably nothing serious but also nothing to be ignored. Upper and lower eyelids are important for protecting your eyes from injury. They also help control how much light reaches your eyes as well as spread the tear film to keep them from drying out.

Drooping eyelid, or ptosis, is when one or both of your upper eyelids do not open fully and can partially block vision. An estimated 11.5% of adults have droopy eyelid, but many don’t know it’s considered a disorder — or that it can be treated.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that ptosis may be associated with conditions including:

  • Bell’s Palsy
  • Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis
  • Migraine
  • Microvascular Cranial Nerve Palsy
  • Myasthenia Gravis

Several things can cause ptosis, including aging, muscle weakness, injury, nerve damage, and congenital conditions (meaning they were present at birth). Some common signs and symptoms of ptosis are:

  • Difficulty keeping your eyes open
  • Eyestrain
  • Tearing
  • Aching forehead from raising your eyes
  • Eye fatigue
  • Trouble seeing without tilting the head back and lifting the chin
  • Amblyopia (sometimes called “lazy eye” because one eye seems to be looking off in another direction)
  • Strabismus (eyes that aren’t properly aligned)
  • Astigmatism
  • Double, blurred, or distorted vision

If you have a sagging eyelid that’s causing a problem with vision, appearance or both, treatment may be recommended. The type of treatment depends on whether the ptosis is caused by a disease or by aging. Treating ptosis caused by aging usually involves surgery. Most surgeries to correct drooping eyelids are very successful.

There is now also a non-sugical treatment for ptosis that may be helpful — a prescription eyedrop that is the first drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat acquired (not congenital) ptosis.

If you think that you or your child may have ptosis, don’t hesitate to contact us at Atlantic Eye, as did our patient Lisa Economou. In 2021, Lisa came in to see Dr. Ronald Kristan about her drooping eyelid that turned out to be a symptom of a more serious medical problem that, thanks to Dr. Kristan, was diagnosed and treated in time to save Lisa’s life. Such cases are rare, but it’s always best to contact us with any eye-related concerns you may have.