Treatment of eyelid swelling

The treatment of eyelid swelling depends entirely on the cause of the swelling. The treatment strategy must be chosen accordingly. If the blood pressure is lowered at night, treatment is usually not necessary, as the eyelid swelling subsides after a few minutes or at most an hour, as soon as the blood pressure has returned to normal.

If the swelling is caused by conjunctivitis, treatment with antibiotic ointments or eye drops is recommended. Eye drops with the active ingredient gentamycin are used here, for example. These should be administered to the affected eye every four hours.

The improvement should already occur within two to three days. Sometimes antibiotic eye ointments are also used. Swelling of the eyelids caused by kidney disease is usually due to an albumin deficiency.

This causes fluid to be drawn from the blood into the tissue, causing swelling. With the supply of albumin, this imbalance is eliminated and the swellings subside relatively quickly. However, it is important to closely monitor the blood count, kidney and protein levels to prevent protein-induced swelling of the eyelids from reoccurring rapidly.

Barley grains or hailstones that lead to the development of unilateral swelling of the eyelids usually do not need to be treated separately, as the barley grains or hailstones often disappear on their own. In some cases, a parallel administration of antibiotic eye drops or ointments is advisable, as it is always possible that additional bacteria settle on the barley or hailstones. It can happen that the grains still increase in size despite therapy and cause discomfort, especially when closing the eyes or blinking.

Those affected then often have pain or a foreign body sensation. In this case the barleycorn or hailstone should be removed surgically. This involves piercing the barleycorn with a sterile, small needle.

Afterwards a parallel antibiotic treatment should be carried out in any case to prevent further inflammation and infection in this area. If the swelling of the eyelids is caused by a blow or an accident, immediate cooling with an Icepack is necessary. If this is carried out quickly, greater swelling of the eyelid can be prevented.

If the swelling does not go down after an accident or becomes even more severe, an ophthalmologist must be consulted in any case. He or she must visualise the back of the eye by mirroring it in order to exclude injuries to the eyes. In the case of severe swelling and previous serious accidents, an X-ray of the facial skull should be taken.

This should show whether it is an underbody fracture. An MRI examination can also be useful, which shows the area behind the eye much better. If the swelling of one or both eyelids is unclear, imaging must always be carried out in order not to overlook serious causes.

If the cause is an allergy, for example, treatment with a cortisone preparation should be carried out to contain the allergy as quickly as possible. It should be noted here that if cortisone treatment is prolonged, the preparation must be gradually phased out. If the swelling of the eyelids is caused by a blow or an accident, immediate cooling with an Icepack is necessary.

If this is carried out quickly, greater swelling of the eyelid can be prevented. If the swelling does not go down after an accident or becomes even more severe, an ophthalmologist must be consulted in any case. He or she must visualise the back of the eye by mirroring it in order to exclude injuries to the eyes.

In the case of severe swelling and previous serious accidents, an X-ray of the facial skull should be taken. This should show whether it is an underbody fracture. An MRI examination can also be useful, which shows the area behind the eye much better.

If the swelling of one or both eyelids is unclear, imaging must always be carried out in order not to overlook serious causes. If the cause is an allergy, for example, treatment with a cortisone preparation should be carried out to contain the allergy as quickly as possible. It should be noted here that if cortisone treatment is prolonged, the preparation must be gradually phased out.

When choosing the right homeopathic remedy, not only the cause and the symptoms are very important, but also corresponding concomitant complaints which must be taken into account. The following preparations are most frequently used for swelling of the upper or lower eyelid: Apis, Arsenicum album, Causticum, Kalium carbonicum and Phosphorus. In this case different dilution series should be observed. The higher the potency of the medication (e.g. D12), the more diluted it is. As a rule of thumb one should take the homeopathic globules in the dosage 3×5 pieces per day until the symptoms improve.