What can happen to me if I sleep with my eyes open?
When I started writing about this topic, I thought of my childhood and the moments when I watched my brothers sleep . Some of them, I don't remember which one, did so with their eyes open , so to speak. Now I know that it is really only one part of the eye that does not close during the night's rest.
This condition is more common than we imagine; it can even occur without any eye disease. Most of the time, it is noticed by a third party, but the affected individual does not realize it , does not sleep poorly, or does not apply eye drops. However, some studies suggest that up to 1 in 5 people could experience it, as noted by the American National Sleep Foundation.
The problem arises when sleeping with your eyes open (medically known as nocturnal lagophthalmos ) goes from being anecdotal to causing discomfort such as a foreign body sensation, red eyes, blurred vision, photophobia or something as simple as not being able to sleep well .
Sometimes it can go beyond these mild symptoms and cause a disorder called dry eye , which can lead to, among other ailments, keratitis (inflammation of the cornea) or something more serious (which occurs very rarely) such as ulcers in the cornea.
There is a test that anyone can perform at home to determine the severity of lagophthalmos: close your eyes completely and have someone try to open them with some force. Usually, the result is that the organs of vision move upward, which is a good sign. This is called Bell's phenomenon and is the cornea's natural way of protecting itself from drying out if the eyes are open (or half-open) while we sleep.
There are some causes of lagophthalmos that we must be aware of in order to anticipate the consequences:
-Suffering from Bell's palsy , a disorder of the nerve that controls facial movements and is very common.
-Being born with some alteration of the eyelids that prevents them from closing properly.
- Trauma (including cosmetic surgeries such as blepharoplasty, the removal of excess fat from the eyelids), infections, or any muscle injury to the eyelid.
- Facial nerve paralysis due to a stroke or tumor.
Once you have identified the source of your eye problems, all that remains is to try to close your eyes while you sleep by any means necessary. There are several methods, such as:
- Medical tapes that hold the eyelids together without damaging the skin.
- Ophthalmic drops, gels or ointments formulated with or without tape that help keep the eyes lubricated.
- Surgeries to close the eyes that the ophthalmologist may suggest depending on the severity of the primary and secondary pathologies.
Now you may be wondering: could it be that I sleep with my eyes open and I didn't realize it, and that's why they bother me so much when I wake up? It is always necessary to consider this when you tell your ophthalmologist the reason for your visit. This helps to make a better diagnosis and, therefore, a better way to treat the discomfort. Or even, if it is more serious, to find a way to address the existence of any pathology resulting from nocturnal lagophthalmos.
This article was originally published on The Conversation .
In fact, ophthalmologists rarely consider this cause of dry eye during a consultation, and this note will certainly help us to remember it. I have a young patient who cannot undergo laser refractive surgery because she suffers from mild dry eye, without any history of dry eye. This could be the cause; I will tell you about it later.
I just hope that we tell our friends, partners, siblings or parents to notice if we have our eyes open when we sleep and that we, in turn, pay attention to our loved ones.
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