Blepharo is the Greek term for eyelid and spasm means an uncontrollable twitch. When the muscle that helps control the opening and closing of the eyelids, contract involuntarily it results in the closure of the eyelids. This condition is referred to as blepharospasm. This closure of the eyelids could sometimes last for a few minutes or sometimes even hours as the disease progresses. When this closure of the eyelids is prolonged it can result in a person becoming effectively blind although they eyes have normal vision capability.
This is because the patients are not able to open their eyelids. The twitching of the eyelids could be debilitating when at times it is not merely restricted to the eyelids but affects the facial region such as the nose and even the neck. This condition is not known to be hereditary and can affect a person quite suddenly. However, the condition is not life threatening. This is not a very common disease. In fact it affects about one person in every 20,000 in the USA . This disease is often mis-diagnosed as the ‘dry eye syndrome’ in the earlier stages of its onset as the symptoms are almost similar.
Causes of Blepharoplasm
Basal ganglia is that part of the brain that coordinates movement. When it does not function normally it could result in blepharospasm. The malfunctioning of the basal ganglia could be due the fact there are disturbances in the transmission of the chemical messengers related to its functioning. Parkinson’s disease might be another cause of this ailment. Injury to the brain – especially to when an injury is caused at the back of the head and unfavourable reaction to drugs prescribed for other ailments as well as multiple sclerosis are other causes.
The disease could also exist together with oral facial dystonia. There are some prescribed drugs that are known to induce this condition. For example it has been observed that the drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease have lead to blepharospasm. Menopausal women are prescribed estrogen replacement therapy. This also sometimes leads to blepharospasm. Benzodiazepine is often prescribed as anti depressant and withdrawal from this drug could also lead to this condition.
Symptoms of Blepharoplasm
Irritation in the eye and blinking excessively are the two most common symptoms. Apart from that dry eyes and losing control of voluntary eye-lid movement are the other causes.
During the onset of the condition it could occur only during times of stress or a reaction to bright light but as it progresses it could lead to a situation where the person is simply unable to perform even the simplest of tasks and it progressively leads to a stage when the person who is affected cannot have normal vision capability.
Treatment of Blepharospasm
Preventive measures could include avoiding stress and exposing oneself to bright light. One could wear dark glasses to avoid bright light. Study the effect of prescribed medication for another ailment on this condition and take preventive measures by having alternate drugs prescribed. An injection of botulinum toxin is used to treat this condition. These injections are given every three months and the dosage and duration of these injections are then varied depending upon the response to the treatment. There are a few cases who have not responded to these injections by they are only a minority.
Other treatment options include drug therapy which unfortunately provides only temporary relief. Surgery is resorted to in extreme cases. The muscles responsible for the closure of the eyelids are removed. This procedure is called protractor myectomy.
