Introduction
Eyelid eczema is an acute or chronic inflammation of the eyelid, which can have various causes. For example, rubbing the eyes with the hands can lead to an infection with bacteria. In many cases, eczema of the eye is also caused by cosmetics.
The skin on the eye and eyelid is particularly thin and sensitive, therefore it reacts particularly quickly to external influences. To prevent eczema on the eyelid, preservative-free care products should be used and make-up should be removed carefully and regularly with water. Also some skin diseases like neurodermatitis (atopic eczema), psoriasis or acne can lead to eyelid eczema. But also other diseases of the kidney, liver or thyroid gland, for example, can cause eczema of the eyelid in rare cases. A danger to the eye is less frequent with eczema of the eyelid, but eczema of the eyelid should be taken seriously in any case and treated correctly.
Symptoms of eyelid eczema
Eczema of the eyelid often results in a blurred redness and swelling of the eyelid. Itching may occur, the skin may become flaky or whitish in color. In rare cases, weeping skin symptoms with crust formation occur. In other cases very dry skin on the eyelid may occur. Depending on the location and cause of the eczema on the eyelid, neighboring parts of the eye (e.g. conjunctiva or cornea) may also be affected.
Causes of eyelid eczema
Basically, rashes and inflammation of the eyelids are due to the special conditions around the eyes, such as moisture and tight skin folds. The causes of eyelid eczema can be divided into different groups. The most common causes are contact allergic eczema.
About half of all eyelid eczema is caused by such allergic reactions. This can be caused by pollen allergies, animal hair, cleaning products (creams, soap, cleansing milk), cosmetics (makeup, mascara), contact lenses, medication (painkillers such as Diclofenac) and many other causes. These include all inflammations and irritations caused by toxins and other foreign bodies in the eye.
These account for about one fifth of eyelid eczema. Furthermore, neurodermatitis, also called atopic dermatitis, can be the cause of eczema of the eyelid. The eyelid is then reddened, dry and very itchy.
Also the seborrhoeic eczema, which is a chronic, recurring skin disease, can trigger an eyelid eczema. This red, scaly rash is probably caused by an interaction between sebum overproduction and overpopulation with the yeast fungus Malassezia furfur. More rare are the seborrhoeic eczema, which is probably caused by infections with yeast fungi.
Immunocompromised persons, such as AIDS patients, are much more frequently affected. Very rare cases are the phototoxic eyelid eczema, which is caused by sunlight. Very rarely, eczema of the eyelids can be caused by a photoallergy (light dermatosis).
In this case, an allergic reaction occurs if a substance is applied to the eyelid beforehand – for example a cream – in combination with UVA radiation. In about one fifth of all affected persons no cause for the eyelid eczema can be found. In this case, doctors speak of atopic eczema.
Mental stress can make a variety of skin diseases much worse. Inflammatory skin diseases such as neurodermatitis or psoriasis cause particularly severe and unpleasant eczema under stress – even on the eyelid. Stress can lead to skin rashes, as chronic stress throws the body’s immune system out of balance.
Stressful situations cause a complicated adaptation mechanism of the hormonal, nervous and immune systems. Blood pressure and pulse rate increase, stress hormones are released and inflammatory processes are also set in motion. To fight potential pathogens, cells of the body’s own defense system migrate from the blood into the tissue.
If the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline are imbalanced, stress situations do not result in the protective suppression of the inflammatory reaction, for example, inflammatory skin eczema occurs. Other skin reactions in the face, such as pimples or acne, are also made worse by the hormonal imbalance in stress. The most important measure to prevent stress-related eczema of the eyelid is to avoid stress in everyday life.Learning targeted stress management strategies can also be helpful for sensitive people.
If the contact allergy is the trigger for eyelid eczema, it is usually a delayed immune reaction of the body to repeated exposure to the allergy trigger (allergen). The delayed reaction to an allergen is also called a late type allergy. Common allergens are cosmetics, creams and also medicines.
Rarely it comes to an immediate reaction with first contact with an allergen, whereby here often for example plants trigger an allergic reaction. A contact allergy usually occurs for the first time in early or late adulthood. People with a chronic skin disease like neurodermatitis have a predisposition to develop a contact allergy.
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