


What is Nocturnal Lagophthalmos?Īnother variation of this condition is called Nocturnal Lagophthalmos, a condition that makes otherwise normal people unable to close their eyes while sleeping. As a reaction to the increased dryness, patients suffering from this condition generally experience excessive tear production ( watery eyes), and often feel as though they have a foreign body trapped in their eye. Patients with lagopthalmos will often suffer from dry eye syndrome, and are vulnerable to corneal abrasions.
NOCTURNAL LAGOPHTHALMOS GENETIC SKIN
Some doctors believe that the incidence of lagophthalmos is on the rise, possibly due in part to the increasing prevalence of surgeries such as blepharoplasty, which can cause lagophthalmos (or exacerbate an existing case) if performed incorrectly.īlepharoplasty is performed in order to correct the appearance of droopy eyelids, whether for medical or cosmetic reasons, but if too much skin is removed from the eyelid, lagophthalmos can result. Bell’s palsy, a poorly understood form of facial palsy and frequent cause of lagophthalmos.Damage to any of the layers of tissue that comprise the eyelids.Möbius’ syndrome, a rare, congenital disease that frequently causes facial palsies.Graves’ disease and other related thyroid disease.Trauma-for example, a facial laceration or a blow to the head that fractures the base of the skull, or a punch in the jaw that fractures the mandible.The function of this nerve can be impaired by: The most common cause of lagophthalmos is a malfunction of the facial nerve (also known as the seventh cranial nerve), which controls the movement of both the muscles that raise the eyebrows and the ones that close the eyelids. How long can you keep your eyes open without blinking?Īfter that, you can feel your eyes begin to dry out, and the urge to close them becomes overwhelming. Some people are unable to close their eyelids completely, however these people suffer from a condition known as lagophthalmos.
