Swelling of the eyes

introduction

Eye swelling is quite common and can have a wide variety of causes. Often unilateral or bilateral swellings have harmless causes and are completely gone within a few hours. But there can also be serious and serious illnesses behind it, which have to be recognized and treated quickly and which in the worst case can even endanger the eyesight. Most of the time, eye swellings are painless and do not cause any further discomfort. In some cases, swelling can cause visual field restrictions. Depending on the cause, it can happen that so much pressure is created by this swelling that visual disturbances can also arise as a result of the eye swelling. If the swelling persists for a long time or if there are additional symptoms, you should consult an ophthalmologist.

Read more about this under Inflammation of the eyelid and eye pain

Causes of Eye Puffiness

It is not that rare that it happens after getting up in the morning both eyelids are red and swollen. The swelling is pasty and painless and is not enough to restrict the field of vision. After a few minutes or after a maximum of 2 hours, the swelling in the eye will subside. The cause lies in one normal ("physiological ") Lower blood pressure at night. The reduced pressure allows more fluid to pass into the tissue, which is then mostly stored in the facial area and especially in the eye area. Unilateral eye puffiness, however, suggests a different cause.

If one-sided eye puffiness does not recede quickly, it could be a so-called Conjunctivitis ("Conjunctivitis") act. This is mostly caused by viruses or bacteria, or when foreign objects such as dust etc. have got into the eye. Most of the time, conjunctivitis is also involved reddened conjunctiva, the burn and pain socialized.

In some cases there may be swelling in both eyes in one allergic reaction lie. Especially in the spring months, in addition to the typical runny nose and tears, swelling often occurs, usually in both eyes. The allergic swelling is painless and does not usually cause any visual field impairment. Sometimes there can also be a feeling of rubbing or a foreign body in the area of ​​the eyelid. Since the space around the eye is very tight, even after a slight swelling of the eyelid, an uncomfortable feeling can occur when blinking and moving the eyes.

But sometimes eye puffiness can also smajor causes to have. So can a Kidney damage are behind increasing water retention. With kidney disease, the body receives much less protein. This ensures that the pressure conditions in the body change in such a way that fluid is pressed out of the blood into the surrounding area, which can then lead to swelling in the area around the eyes and also in the area of ​​the legs. A quick clarification and treatment is urgently necessary. Most of the time, this condition, also known as kidney failure, is at this stage dialysis indexed. The Cause of the kidney disease it has to treated separately become.

Various eye diseases can also cause eye swelling. One of them is the Eye tumorthat can be found anywhere on the eye and also the increased intraocular pressure. While the former usually leads to unilateral swelling, the increased intraocular pressure is always associated with swelling in both eyes. Characteristic of a greatly increased intraocular pressure ("Glaucoma") In addition to possible eye swelling, there is also a board-hard palpable eyeball as well as sometimes severe pain in the area of ​​the eye.

The stye

The stye is also called Hordeolum designated. It is an inflammatory change in the Sebum or sweat glands of the eyelid. Most of the time, a stye appears on the inside of the eyelid or on the edge of the eyelid in the area of ​​the eyelashes. A stye makes its way through Foreign body sensation noticeable in the area of ​​the eyelids. Most of the time, a small, rough swelling can also be felt and or seen. In addition to the swelling and reddening of the eyelid, reddening of the eyelid can also occur.

A stye occurs mostly suddenly and acutely on. In over 90% of the cases, a stye will germinate Staphylococcus aureus triggered, a skin germ that can migrate into the sebum duct for various reasons. The affected, often infected, glands include the so-called meibomian glands, which are sebum glands on the outer edges of the eyelids. Treatment is often not necessary. An antibiotic eye ointment or eye drops can keep the bacteria from spreading to the area. In the case of stye that does not heal and that are severely inflamed, it may be necessary to pierce the stye with a minimal surgical procedure. This is done by the ophthalmologist using a very thin and sterile needle. Anesthesia is often not necessary. After the incision, a mostly purulent yellowish liquid is emptied. The stye is then cleared out. Antibiotic treatment should still be carried out in parallel so that no infection can spread after the operation. The following antibiotic preparations are used to treat stye: are effective Eye ointments or eye dropswho have the active ingredient Geomycin or Gentamycin contain.

It is from the stye Hailstone to delimit. The hailstone is one chronic, granulomatous inflammation of the meibomian gland.

If barley grains keep coming back, the so-called Lid margin hygiene to be taken care of. Obviously, in this case the bacterial load in the skin area of ​​the eye is too high, so that infections occur again and again. Cleaning the eyelid margins three times a day should help prevent the germ from spreading. A Home remedies in the treatment and prevention of a stye black tea. Well soaked but cold tea bags with black tea should be placed on the affected eyelid rims and dabbed on them. During a stye infection, this will help the stye heal faster. Otherwise, the tea bag application can also be used preventively.

Swelling of the eye after a blow or fall

If there has been a blow to the eye beforehand or if the patient has fallen, eye swelling can very often occur. Usually this swelling is also associated with a bruise (so-called. Ophthalmic hematoma) that is circular around the eye. The swelling of the eye should improve after a few days after an accident. In the acute phase of eye swelling, there may be a feeling of a foreign body and discomfort when blinking, as well as visual disturbances. However, these should then decrease as the swelling decreases. Relief would be provided by anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as Ibuprofen® or Diclofenac®, which can contribute to puffiness in the eyes. Consistent cooling with an ice pack wrapped in a towel can also ensure that there is no such pronounced swelling in the eye in the first place.

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An ophthalmologist should definitely be seen after a blow to the eye. With the ophthalmoscope he will determine whether structures in the eye have been damaged or injured. Furthermore, it should be considered to make an imaging of the eye. If you fell, you would get an x-ray of the skull to see if the eye socket was fractured. Furthermore, if there is insufficient swelling, an MRI of the head can be performed to show whether structures behind the eye have been damaged.

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Eye swelling in the baby

Puffy eyes in babies are relatively common. The leading cause of eye puffiness at this age are Germs that the baby has rubbed into its eye. Often it is skin or fecal germs that then become a Conjunctivitis being able to lead. Accompanying the mostly unilateral eye swelling, one would see heavy tears or reddening of the eye in this case.

Another cause of a mostly unilateral eye swelling can also occur in babies Retinoblastoma be. This malignant tumor located on the retina can lead to an increase in pressure in the eye, which is usually only noticed afterwards due to a strong eye swelling.

Other causes of eye swelling in infants are, as in adults, allergic-related, protein-related or blood pressure-related. In infants, however, these types of causes are relatively rare compared to adults.

Treatment of eye swelling

If swelling occurs in one or both eyes, the first thing to do is to find out what the exact cause is. Depending on the situation, the appropriate treatment should also be selected. If there is swelling in the eye caused by the drop in blood pressure at night, no further measures need to be taken, as normalization of the blood pressure is accompanied by a swelling of the eyes.

If the cause of the swelling is an allergic reaction, antiallergic eye drops should be taken. Vividrin® drops are very helpful and quickly lead to a swelling of the eyelids.

If the cause of the eye swelling is primarily an infection-related inflammation in the sense of conjunctivitis, antibiotic eye drops would have to be treated. Gentamycin is mainly used here, which should be administered into the affected eye by means of a drop every 4 hours.

A stye or a hailstone that leads to swelling of the eye may not need to be treated, as an improvement usually occurs on its own. Sometimes, however, the accompanying treatment with an antibiotic eye ointment or antibiotic eye drops may be necessary to avoid additional bacterial contamination.

Eye swelling caused by kidney damage cannot be treated on its own, as the underlying disease must be treated. The kidneys have to do their job again to ensure that there is enough protein in the body. People with kidney disease are also often given protein in parallel to compensate for the imbalance and to ensure that fluid no longer escapes into the tissue. In addition to treating the underlying condition, some measures can also be taken to help reduce eye puffiness. Cold compresses or covers can have a decongestant effect on the eye. Compresses that are first placed in a camomile-soaked liquid and then placed on the eye can lead to rapid swelling of the eye.

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Duration of eye swelling

How long one or both eyes remain puffy depends entirely on the triggering cause. The very common one Eye swelling caused by blood pressure, which occurs mainly after getting up, disappears in a few minutes or a maximum of an hour be. A Barley or hailstonescausing eye puffiness will approx. 2-5 days need until it subsides. Eye puffiness caused by allergies can take up to 2 weeks or longer, depending on the season and the severity of the allergy. In this case, however, the treatment should be reconsidered, under which an anti-allergic decongestion of the eye should be achieved very quickly.

If it is a kidney-related cause that has led to eye swelling, the underlying kidney disease must first be treated. Since the main cause of swelling of the eyes in kidney disease is a protein deficiency, a consistent protein intake can improve the symptoms within a few days. Regular blood and protein controls are absolutely essential.

What to do if the eye swelling does not go away?

Should it be the case that either the exact cause of eye swelling remains open or the swelling does not go away, should further diagnostic measures be seized. In the event of swelling of the eye caused by an infection, a smear the conjunctiva to find out the pathogen causing the inflammation and accompanying swelling of the eyes. If the eye puffiness is allergic and does not get better, a stronger one should be used antiallergic drug be taken. Cetirizine® or cortisone would then offer themselves as a treatment.

If the puffiness of the eyes is unclear, a Ultrasound of the eyeball (will be done by the ophthalmologist) and an imaging of the head. The aim is to show whether a tumor is pressing on the eye and causing it to swell. Eye swelling after a fall that does not get better must always make you think of an eye floor fracture. This dangerous fracture should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.