What It Is
Entropion is a condition in which the eyelid, most commonly the lower eyelid, turns inward toward the eye, causing the eyelashes and skin to rub against the eye's surface.
How It Develops
Like ectropion, entropion most commonly develops due to age-related weakening and loss of elasticity in the muscles and tissue supporting the eyelid, though in this case the changes cause the eyelid to fold inward rather than outward. It can also result from scarring, such as from a prior injury or certain chronic eye infections, or from muscle spasms affecting the eyelid.
General Symptoms
Because entropion causes the eyelashes and skin to rub directly against the eye's surface, common symptoms include a persistent feeling of something being in the eye, redness, excessive tearing, and, if left uncorrected for a long period, potential irritation or damage to the surface of the cornea from the ongoing friction.
General Treatment Approaches
Mild or temporary entropion is sometimes managed with lubricating drops or tape to hold the eyelid in a more normal position in the short term. For persistent entropion, surgical correction to reposition the eyelid is the standard and generally effective treatment, helping prevent the ongoing irritation and potential corneal damage that untreated entropion can cause.
Background
Entropion has been recognized as a distinct eyelid condition throughout the history of ophthalmology, given the clear and often uncomfortable symptoms it produces. Surgical correction techniques developed considerably over the 20th century, and because untreated entropion can lead to corneal damage over time, timely surgical correction has long been emphasized as an important part of managing the condition.