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Eyelid edema
Last reviewed: 07.07.2025
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Eyelid edema is a condition of abnormally increased water content in the subcutaneous tissue of the eyelids that is often encountered in medical practice.
Eyelid edema occurs under certain conditions: high skin elasticity, very loose texture of subcutaneous fat, ability of subcutaneous fat to accumulate fluid, abundant blood supply to the eyelids. Systemic pathology (heart disease, kidney disease, thyroid gland) and local causes that lead to eyelid edema: trauma, insect bites, impaired lymph drainage, leakage of cranial cerebral fluid.
A distinction is made between inflammatory and non-inflammatory (passive) eyelid edema.
Inflammatory eyelid edema occurs in the following diseases: inflammation of the eyelids themselves (styes, blepharitis, purulent inflammation of the eyelids, abscesses, contact dermatitis, insect bites), inflammatory diseases of the conjunctiva (purulent, membranous and pseudomembranous conjunctivitis), diseases of the lacrimal sac (dacryocystitis, phlegmon of the lacrimal sac), diseases of the lacrimal gland and orbit (abscesses, pseudotumor), diseases of the eyeball (acute iridocyclitis and endophthalmitis). Reactive eyelid edema is observed in inflammation of the paranasal sinuses.
Inflammatory edema of the eyelids has the following symptoms: pronounced redness of the skin, increased local temperature, painfulness of the eyelids upon palpation; the edema is almost always one-sided. In a number of all sorts of cases, enlargement and painfulness of regional lymph nodes are noted.
Dense swelling of the eyelids can occur during cyclic exacerbations of erysipelas, and is manifested by greater density of the surrounding tissues.
Non-inflammatory eyelid edema has the following symptoms: the skin of the eyelids is pale, "cool", palpation of the eyelid is not painful. Eyelid edema is, in most cases, bilateral, most pronounced in the morning, often combined with leg edema and ascites.
Allergic (angioneurotic) edema of the eyelids is usually unilateral, significantly pronounced, occurs unexpectedly, is not accompanied by pain and disappears abruptly. The development of edema is often preceded by headaches, a feeling of exhaustion, rapid fatigue. The prerequisite for its development is considered to be an allergic reaction of sensitized opranism to some irritant, both specific (medicinal product, milk, citrus fruits, chocolate, pollen), but also non-specific (cooling). Significant expansion of capillaries causes their increased permeability.
Treatment of eyelid edema involves eliminating the underlying cause of the edema or contact with the irritant.
The prognosis for eyelid edema depends on the underlying cause of the edema. Non-inflammatory (passive) eyelid edema occurs as a result of local (head injury, angioedema) and combined (heart or kidney failure, severe anemia) factors.
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