What is causing your lashes to fall off?

Many people and especially women have discovered that their eyelashes form an important par of their natural beauty. They take a lot of care to ensure that they are looking at their best. When they cannot grow theirs naturally for any reason they can actually put on fake ones and life continues. However, it is important to go just a step further to discover why they are falling. Many times it could be a sign of some illness that is coming up and the earlier it is detected the better for you.

Ingrown eyelashes

Blepharitis

This is a common persistent condition that is also known as blepharitis and is a bacterial infection. This is most of the time due to poor hygiene that may cause an irregular function of the oil glands. It may not affect vision so much but will most likely cause ingrown and loss of eyelashes. The ingrown eyelashes will cause irritation to the eye area. Some very severe cases will cause loss of pigmentation to the eyelashes so that they turn grey or white.

Some of the people who are most susceptible to the condition are those who suffer other skin conditions such as dandruff, oily skin, eczema and psoriasis. People who are constantly exposed to chemical fumes, smog, smoke and other common irritants or those who react to medication might experiences some chronic cases of the disease.

This is mainly a disease that affects adults though some children may also experience it.  And like dandruff it tends to become a serious condition without a cure but there is treatment to manage the disease and improve the hygiene of the eyelid.

The oil gland dysfunction is brought about by hormones, a general lack of good health, stress and poor nutrition and will be accompanied by conditions such as dandruff of the scalp and other skin conditions. Theo other conditions of a second type of the disease manifests conditions such as loss of eyelashes, enlarged blood vessels around the eyelids and crusting around the eyes.

Signs and Symptoms

There can be some other side effects of this condition when the bacterial debris is left to clog the pores of the eyelids and cause the glandular secretion to backlog. Common symptoms include redness around the edge of the eyelids, and/or scaly as well as crusty matter on the eyelids and lashes noticeable when you wake up.  You can also experience swollen eyes, greasy flakes or scales and excessive tearing. There is also the common feeling that there is something in the eye when blinking, loss of or ingrown eyelashes, sensitivity to light and irritation at the skin on the edge of the eyelids.

Is Treatment available?

Treatment for blephritis requires a strict program of eyelid hygiene, including cleansing the eyelid at specific intervals. Regular washing of your hands, face and scalp with soap will help to manage those mold cases. But for cases that are serious, warm compresses and eyelid scrubs are highly recommended. A warm compress can be made by running a face cloth under warm water.

You can then gently run the facecloth along the base of your lashes as you draw it out towards the end of the lashes on both the top and the bottom lids. Then rinse the cloth before you wipe the other eye. There are special pads available for eyelid scrubs that can decrease the amount of debris, flaking skin and eyelid redness. During the treatment period it is recommended that you avoid wearing makeup and replace your makeup during flare-ups as bacteria can survive in makeup cases, pencils as well as mascara.

Trachoma

The other serious condition that may affect you and manifest through the eyelashes is known as trachoma. The main signs of trachoma include:

• Mild itching and irritation of the eye
• Discharge from the eye containing mucus or pus
• As the disease progresses, later trachoma symptoms include:
• Marked light sensitivity (photophobia)
• Blurred vision
• Eye pain

Children are particularly susceptible to this disease but the symptoms develop slowly so that th e more painful symptoms may emerge in adulthood. The disease has been graded in about five different stages that it takes in its development.

1. Inflammation — follicular: Just when it’s beginning and may affect just about five or more follicles and visible with magnification on upper eyelid.
2. Inflammation — intense: eyelids become irritated and is highly infectious at this stage
3. Eyelid scarring: eyelid may become distorted and turn in
4. Trichiasis or ingrown eyelashes: the scarred inner lining of the eyelid continues to deform, causing lashes to turn in and scratch outer surface of the eye.
5. Corneal clouding: cornea becomes affected by an inflammation that is most commonly seen on upper eyelid and is compounded by the continued scratching from the in-turned lashes. This causes secondary infections that can lead to partial or complete blindness.

When to see a doctor

You need to see a doctor if you or your child has itching, irritation or discharge from the eyes especially if you have recently travelled to area where such a disease is common. You also have discovered that falling eyelashes may be communicating a bigger message than that of the need to be attractive and improving your appearance. The best treatment you can give your eyes and eyelashes is hygiene of the highest level, and being keen to see a doctor as and when necessary.