Therapy
The therapy of a red eyelid depends on its cause. If conjunctivitis is present, the family doctor will prescribe eye ointments or eye drops with antibacterial or antiviral agents if the symptoms have not subsided after a few days. In the case of an allergic reaction, eye drops are also used, but these contain an antihistamine, i.e. an anti-allergenic drug.
In the case of neurodermatitis, oily, moisturizing creams are used to prevent an acute attack. These often contain glycerin and/or urea, which ensure that moisture is bound to the skin. However, if the patient is in an acute episode of neurodermatitis, the eyes can swell so much that vision is also impaired.
In this case, the dermatologist prescribes a cortisone cream which quickly counteracts the swelling. However, cortisone creams should only be used in exceptional situations and should never be applied daily! In order to achieve an optimal therapy for your neurodermatitis, please consult your dermatologist.
Which home remedies can help?
The choice of home remedies also depends on the cause of the red eyelid. Proven household remedies against conjunctivitis are curd wrap, eyebright and calendula. Quark wrap has a pleasantly cooling and decongesting effect.
Care must be taken to ensure that no quark gets into the eyes, otherwise the inflammation will be aggravated. Eyebright and calendula can be made into tea and the eye can be soaked in tea with compresses. Chamomile tea is also frequently recommended as a household remedy for eye inflammation.
Recently, however, the use of chamomile has tended to be discouraged, as it can cause allergic reactions. In the case of neurodermatitis there are numerous household remedies recommended, such as apple vinegar, healing earth or St. John’s wort. On our page Household remedies for neurodermatitis you will find comprehensive information about this.
Red eyelid in the baby
The same causes of reddened eyelids occur in infants as in adults. Conjunctivitis is a particularly common disease in infants and children. This is due to the fact that babies and children touch all kinds of objects and also put them in their mouth.
As a result, bacterial and viral infections, as well as conjunctivitis, spread particularly quickly in nurseries and daycare centers. For this reason, it is important not to send children with conjunctivitis to the daycare center for a few days in order to avoid infecting other children. Conjunctivitis in babies usually heals on its own within a week.
In complicated or long-lasting cases, eye drops or eye ointments mixed with an antibiotic can be prescribed to fight the inflammation. You can find comprehensive information on this topic on the main page “Conjunctivitis in babies”. In the case of neurodermatitis in babies, oily creams are also used, as in adults, to protect dry skin.
In babies, the red eyelid can also be caused by an incompletely opened lacrimal duct. As a result, the tear fluid cannot flow into the throat, but blocks the passage and swells out through the eye. The result is inflammation and swelling of the entire eye, as it cannot be flushed by tear fluid and therefore increased bacteria can colonize the eye.
Since the tear duct widens on its own after a few weeks in most babies, this condition does not require any special therapy at first.The baby’s eye can be cleaned regularly and carefully with a disposable washcloth and lukewarm water towards the nose. An ophthalmological examination is necessary if the baby’s eye is very painful and inflamed. Babies can also suffer from allergic reactions in the eye.
Here too, the paediatrician or ophthalmologist will prescribe eye drops. It is important to make sure that the baby does not rub the eye, as this can trigger an additional inflammation of the eye.
