Eyelash under the upper eyelid – What to do?

If an eyelash gets under the upper eyelid it can be very unpleasant. The eye is watery and burns. If a second person is present, they can easily remove the lashes.

The affected person must look down while the assistant grabs the upper eyelid at the origin of the eyelashes and pulls it over the lower eyelid. Normally the lashes should now be removed from the lower eyelid. To remove the eyelashes, an attempt can be made to rinse the eye.

You can use simple tap water, which is poured into a bottle. In no case you should use sparkling water, because it irritates the eyes additionally. The water is run over the eye from the side of the nose to the outer corner of the eye.

The affected eye should be open, it can be held open with the fingers, for example. The help of another person is often useful. If the eyelash cannot be removed by rinsing, an attempt can be made to remove it with a swab.

A helper is also needed for this. The affected person looks down, the helper carefully pulls the upper eyelid outwards and upwards by the lashes. If the lashes become visible, they can be removed from the eye with a clean swab.

This should be done very carefully. If the eyelash still cannot be removed, a visit to the doctor may be necessary. Excessive rubbing of the eye can damage the eye skin and is therefore not recommended.

The doctor removes the eyelashes by the folding technique, the so-called ectropioning. To do this, he folds the upper eyelid upwards with the help of a cotton swab. This can be unpleasant, but it is not painful and leads to a quick improvement after removing the eyelashes.

In particularly stubborn cases a double ectropioning may be necessary. In this case the upper eyelid is rolled upwards by the doctor using a special instrument so that its underside is exposed. The lashes can now be easily removed.