What is the cause of eyelashes?

In our lives, many people's eyelashes grow backwards. This kind of eyelash growth is an abnormal condition of the eyeball, and this disease is a surgical eye disease. It is also troublesome to treat because it requires changing the growth direction of the eyelashes, and it is even likely to receive the patient's eyes during treatment. So what is the matter with the eyelashes growing backwards?

What is trichiasis

Eyelash inversion refers to the abnormal condition in which eyelashes grow backwards and touch the eyeball. Eyelashes are a common external eye disease among children, teenagers and the elderly, which is mainly caused by abnormal growth direction of eyelashes. Eyelashes with abnormal growth direction, especially those that grow toward the surface of the cornea, not only often rub against the corneal epithelium, causing symptoms such as foreign body sensation, photophobia, and tearing, but also cause eye congestion, conjunctivitis, corneal epithelial detachment, keratitis, corneal pannus, corneal ulcers, and corneal leukoplakia, affecting vision.

What are normal eyelashes?

Normal eyelashes grow from the upper and lower eyelid margins. There are about 100 to 150 eyelashes on the upper eyelid, and their length is about 8 to 12 mm. The lower eyelid eyelashes are slightly less, about 50, and they are shorter, 6-8 mm. When a normal person looks straight ahead, the inclination of the upper eyelashes is about 110-130 degrees. When the eyes are closed, the inclination is about 140 degrees. They grow parallel and neatly to the square, and do not contact the cornea. They play a certain protective role for the eyes, can block dust, and also have a certain cosmetic effect.

What causes inverted eyelashes?

There are three types according to the cause of the disease:

One type is congenital. Congenital abnormalities are more common in infants and young children. Generally speaking, the skin in similar places is too loose, or the orbicularis oculi muscle is abnormal, which makes the skin in the inner canthus crowded, pushing the eyelashes, making its growth direction abnormal, and thus growing inward, thus touching the cornea.

The second type is caused by various inflammations, various inflammations of the eyelid margin, such as the more common mites or meibomian gland dysfunction causing disordered eyelash growth, or the more common chronic diseases such as trachoma that caused abnormal eyelash growth direction.

The third category is trauma. Various traumas can cause abnormalities in the eyelid margin, which will change the direction of eyelash growth. Various traumas, including mechanical and chemical traumas, can also lead to abnormalities in the direction of eyelash growth, including inverted eyelashes and disordered eyelashes.

Eyelashes and eyelid margins are very important appendages of the eye, and they play a critical role in the health of our ocular surface. Once eyelashes turn inward, they will trigger corneal abnormalities and cause some eye complications, and even affect vision. Entropion caused by various reasons can cause eyelashes turn inward.