Eyelid ptosis refers to the drooping of one or both eyelids
and is caused by weakness of the muscle responsible
for raising the eyelid, damage to the nerves which
control those muscles, or laxity of the skin of the
upper eyelids. The eyelid droop may be barely noticeable,
or in severe cases, the lid can descend over the
entire pupil. Drooping eyelid can occur in both
children and adults and can be caused by the normal
aging process, a congenital abnormality (present
before birth) or the result of an injury or
disease. Drooping eyelid occurs most often due to
aging.
Causes of eyelid ptosis are diverse and can widely vary.
However, the most obvious sign of ptosis is the
drooping eyelid. Depending on how severely the lid
droops, people with ptosis may have difficulty
seeing or closing the eye completely. People have
been known to tilt their heads back to try to see
under the lid, or raise their eyebrows repeatedly to
try to lift the eyelids. The degree of droopiness
varies from one person to the next. If you think you
may have ptosis, compare a recent photo of your face
to one from 10 or 20 years ago, and you'll likely
see a difference in the eyelid skin. Eyelid ptosis can look
similar to dermatochalasis, a group of connective
tissue diseases that cause skin to hang in folds.
These diseases are associated with less-than-normal
elastic tissue formation.
Additional signs
and symptoms that may be attributed to ptosis are
eye fatigue as a result of straining to keep the
affected eye(s) open, crossed or misaligned eye, or
double vision.
Eyelid ptosis occurs when the muscle that usually raises
the eyelid is not strong enough to do so. It can
affect one eye or both eyes and is more common in
the aging or elderly, as muscles in the eyelids may
begin to deteriorate. One can, however, be born with
ptosis, as it is hereditary. Ptosis may be caused by
damage/trauma to the muscle which raises the eyelid,
or damage to the nerve which controls this muscle.
Such damage could be a sign or symptom of an
underlying disease such as diabetes mellitus, a
brain tumor, and diseases which may cause weakness
in muscles or nerve damage, such as myasthenia
gravis.
Ptosis does not usually improve with time, and
nearly always requires corrective
upper eyelid surgery by an
ophthalmologist specializing in plastic and
reconstructive surgery. In most cases, surgery is
performed to strengthen or tighten the levator
muscle and lift the eyelid. If the levator muscle is
especially weak, the lid and eyebrow may be lifted.
Eyelid ptosis treatment can usually be performed with local
anesthesia except with young children.
Eye Magic has
been developed to provide an
alternative to eyelid blepharoplasty
(eyelid surgery), which over one
hundred thousand people opt for each year. Eyelid
surgery can be expensive (nearly $7,000 in some
cases) and can result in complications such as
scarring, skin discoloration, and blurry or double
vision to name a few. Eye Magic provides those with
ptosis, or droopy eyelids, a non-surgical
alternative to this surgery. Eye Magic's patented
strips, which are made from an extremely thin,
transparent, non-porous, hypoallergenic, conformable
plastic, counteract drooping eyelid skin by holding the
skin in a natural position,
restoring elasticity to
the eyelid and lifting the eyelid droop.
