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Original poster

droopy eyelid part 2

32 replies

bumbly · 06/04/2008 19:58

was wondering has anyone ever had a little one with a swollen eyelid that then resolved?

my little one's eyelid is getting worse

and sometimes is fine - which baffles me and worries me sick

his eyelid goes from half way down to sort of normal upright

going to docs to make sure eyesight not being affected

but it suddenly dawned on me could you have an eyelid infection/swelling without redness or discharge?

no idea what this droopy eyelid is?

if it is ptosis then why so intermittent??

OP posts:
Califrau · 06/04/2008 20:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DJCod · 06/04/2008 20:13

oh hi
mine was never swollen he was born this way
i think tis an infection
eys get it seen asap
wiht ptosis if it droops over the pupil they operate asap

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 20:31

cod can i ask as any info appreciated as havent slept in two days

was your child's ptosis eyelid always the same in shape/droopiness every part of day or did it vary from morning to afternoon in hsape/droppiness level?

would they operate on an 8 month old?

not over pupil at the mo..

and how do they diagnose ptosis?

OP posts:
Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 20:31

cod can i ask as any info appreciated as havent slept in two days

was your child's ptosis eyelid always the same in shape/droopiness every part of day or did it vary from morning to afternoon in hsape/droppiness level?

would they operate on an 8 month old?

not over pupil at the mo..

and how do they diagnose ptosis?

OP posts:
frogs · 06/04/2008 20:43

Take him to the Dr. Don't freak yourself out googling this, most of the reasons for ptosis are harmless. Just make a note of what triggers the fluctuations, so that you can explain to the Dr what the usual pattern of symptoms is.

If it's neuromuscular, it will typically be better in the morning/after a sleep and worse in the evening/when tired.

margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 21:01

My dd had this. I had no idea I should worry about it until I googled...

She had it every morning for a week when she was about 9 months old. Her eye was sort of half shut (but not actually swollen, the eyelid was literally half closed iykwim) for a few hours each morning. As soon as I googled it I ran to GP and insisted on referral to paediatric opthalmologist.

She and her team did a very, very careful examination and the whole thing took about 90 mins. It frightened the life out of me. She concluded it was related to teething actually. Inflammation in her right cheek (though her cheek looked perfectly normal) was irritating the eyelid, causing it to droop.

She had it again a couple of weeks ago, much less severely, but I am convinced the dr was right and it was teething related.

She's now nearly 18mo.

Hope that helps. Do go to the dr and try to take a photo to show them. But intermittent sounds like it could well be teething related.

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 21:09

what are the harmless reasons for ptosis??? cant find anything apart from neuromusc damage!!!

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Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 21:10

margo - oh my gosh my little one is actually teething very badly

i will def let you know the outcome

you have given me a glimer of hope that it may not be neuromusc though ma prepared for worse

have also been taking pictures!

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margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 21:19

oh bumbly, I'm sure that's what it is! I really hope so as I know exactly what you are feeling. I have never felt so sick as sitting in that waiting room waiting to see the paediatrician and wondering what I was going to hear...

It really did look like a ptosis - I had spent a whole day googling! But have utter faith in her diagnosis - she took it really, really seriously and concluded it was fine. One of her key reasonings for the "it's fine" conclusion was that it was intermittent, just like your lo's, and that didn't fit with the more worrying diagnoses. Also, no other symptoms.

Fingers crossed for you anyway - and def get it checked - but it sounds very, very similar.

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 21:30

wow!! i wonder if it is the same??

been googling ptosis and teething and nothing comes up at all - never comes across that it can be caused by teething....never heard of this...

my docs are so unhelpful so am not sure will get referred - wish i had an eye doc like yours

i have actually been sick today from the worry --so ill and down about it

thanks thanks for such an important and helpful post...means a lot

just worried as intermittentcy is getitng worse - hoping to see doc tomorrow!

ps glad all is well with your dd

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Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 21:33

ps what are the other symptoms one should have with ptosis according to your eye doc??

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margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 21:39

I had to absolutely insist on a referal. My GP wanted to brush it off and she is useless so CERTAINLY couldn't diagnose a true ptosis or not. She just couldn't be bothered with it. It took a real specialist. I went private to get a rapid appointment - cost me £180 but I would have paid ten times that to get an answer. Might that be an option for you?

If you are near to London, I saw Isabelle Russell Eggitt who is at the Portland Hospital, in case that's of any help.

I really do know how you are feeling and just want to send you all my best wishes. I am really hopeful that you will get the same diagnosis as we did. Please shout if I can help at all.

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 21:52

margo thanks thanks thqanks thanks so much for the tip - i didnt realise i could go private and yes i can go to london if all fails...

you are a true true star......not sure here in the country can get to see an eye doc - but will let you know tomorrow

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margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 21:55

sorry, missed your last post.

She didn't specify what other symptoms she might be concerned about but the fact that my DD had no other eye problems and and no suggestion of eg, headaches, was another piece of evidence in her diagnosis.

Have also just dug out the letter she wrote at the time and she said that from the photo it was evident that my dd was not using her other facial muscles to open up her eye (the eyebrow muscle for example). DD was looking up in the photo and the dr could tell that only one eyebrow was being raised help her see upwards and to help lift her eyelid up. The other one was not as raised. I could not see any difference really but it was something that helped the dr identify that this was an issue with general facial inflammation rather than neuromuscular problems, although as I said, I could not see any facial inflammation myself.

If you think about how much pain they can be in with teething, it's no surprise that the inflammation could be there and affect all the inner muscles and nerves that you can't see.

BTW, one of the things that reassures me is that once her front teeth were through, the eyelid thing settled down for months until the last couple of weeks when it came back. I duly looked in her mouth and a couple of molars were coming through although it's still not obvious to a layman that there is any facial inflammation.

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 21:58

sorry missed that middle bit - in my piccies little one face is all the smae every where no eyebrow movement

not sure what you were saying...

but how can i thank you for chasing up your letter - you are a star1 truly!!!

let me reread it slowly your post..am just so excited re your post

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margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 22:14

bumbly, I'm trying to post on my profile the pic I took to the drs. As you can see (if it works) you really can't see any difference between the eyebrows - as a layperson - but the dr could.

I'm not sure if it has worked but I will keep trying.

margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 22:19

OK think it's there. This is a pic of it looking not too bad. It definitely got worse than this, but at other times was perfectly fine.

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 22:33

oh wow will look now!!!!!!

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Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 22:35

doc said she wasnt using eyebrow

so do i understand correctly she should have used eyebrow on affected eye???

correct my complete total ignorance confusion on matter

what was she looking for again in the pic?

and by the way what a gorgeous little girl! stunning!!!

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DJCod · 06/04/2008 22:40

dh reckoned that it was sroopier at night time or when tired but i was never sure.
he had two short ops
all ifn now9 altho obv slightly open when asleeP)

margoandjerry · 06/04/2008 22:45

Apparently normally she would have used her eyelid muscle and her eyebrow muscle to open it. In a true ptosis, only the eyelid muscle would be not working so the eyebrow would be up (working) and the eyelid would be down (not working).

In our case, neither seemed to be working quite right. Which seemed to be good news - and suggest it was general inflammation rather than a particular nerve problem.

It was hard to understand because it sounded like worse news that neither muscle had been used - but it was actually better. Guess that's why I'm not a paediatric opthamologist because it was all a bit topsy turvey to me!

Anyway, am off to bed now but I hope that helps a bit.

really hope you get some sleep - and the right answer very soon! Give me a shout if you need anything. Am offline all day tomorrow and prob tomorrow night as well but will try to check in on Tues night.

Original poster
bumbly · 06/04/2008 22:52

thanks for all help - nightie night!!

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Original poster
bumbly · 08/04/2008 20:21

margo

just to let you know that my gp practice has actually referred my lo to our local hospital

i dont think we have paed opthalmologist in our small hospital but it is a start...

it will take time apparently...

but maybe he will be seen in the next couple of months -

eye not better still

did your eye doc give you exercises your daughter could do?

thanks so much for all your help again!

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margoandjerry · 08/04/2008 21:10

so pleased you got taken seriously - enough to get a hospital referral.

I do hope you get an answer soon. Doc did not suggest any exercises or medication or anything. It's resolved itself more or less. But she is due to get some more teeth and if it flares up again at the same time, I'll be reassured that the original diagnosis was right.

Do hope you get the same result. Please let us know - been thinking about you and your lo.

xx

Original poster
bumbly · 09/04/2008 21:06

thanks margo

i also forgot to ask - did you lo's affected eyelid sometimes bat slower?

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