Facial nerve function may affect in several conditions like cerebrovascular accident, head trauma, brain tumors, Bells palsy etc. ) Many parents choose to play light music or white noise to help their little one stay asleep, too. Lagophthalmos, the inability to close the eyelids completely is the main cause of exposure keratopathy.Common cause of lagophthalmos is facial nerve (CN VII) palsy. (This is also important to help lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. This means a dark environment with a nice cool temperature that’s safe from pillows, blankets, and other hazards. You’ll also want to ensure that your baby is sleeping in a way that they are less likely to startled awake.

If you would like to close your baby’s eyes, you should wait until they are fast asleep and then gently use your fingers to guide their eyelids down over their eyes. Also, record the blink rate as well as the completeness of the blink. Basic modalities like lubricant drops during the day and ointments at night are usually enough to protect the cornea from exposure keratopathy. Document the degree of lagophthalmos by measuring this space, in millimeters, with a ruler. Once a diagnosis of lagophthalmos has been made, treatment will depend on the severity of your condition and whether it is chronic or nocturnal in nature. Lagophthalmos may lead to keratitis, corneal abrasion, infection, vascularization, and in extreme cases, ocular perforation, endophthalmitis and loss of the eye. While there is no need to go out of your way to correct this, some parents feel most comfortable closing their babies eyes when they are asleep. Lagophthalmos is present when a space remains between the upper and lower eyelid margins in extreme downgaze. In the rare event that you notice that their eyes seem to be drying out, you’ll also probably want to check with their doctor about eye drops or an ointment to ensure that the cornea does not become damaged. Unless you notice that they seem to be developing dry or irritated eyes there is no need to do anything!īecause sleeping with their eyes open can leave their eyes feeling dryer, you may want to use a humidifier to keep more moisture in the air.

The main cause of lagophthalmos is facial nerve paralysis (paralytic lagophthalmos), but it also occurs after trauma or. The inability to blink and effectively close the eyes leads to corneal exposure and excessive evaporation of the tear film. So what can you do if your little one is fast asleep with their eyes open? Lagophthalmos is the incomplete or defective closure of the eyelids.

Eye drops for nocturnal lagophthalmos