Have you ever seen someone fall asleep with the eyes open? It may look strange, but indeed there are abnormalities in the eyes cause eyes open when asleep and it can also happen to you. It is sleeping with eyes open disorder. Then is it safe when that happens?
Sleeping with eyes open disorder
Why are eyes open during sleep?
When you are asleep, you won’t know whether your eyes are closed or open. When it is time to wake up your eyes feel itchy, dry, and tired, chances are you have fallen asleep with your eyes open or partially closed. This can occasionally occur in healthy people.
However, if symptoms continue to appear after you wake up, you may have a disorder of the eye. Such as nocturnal lagophthalmos or nocturnal fatigue.
Symptoms of nocturnal lagophthalmos.
In addition to dry and itchy eyes, there are other symptoms that can occur when you experience the nocturnal disorder, such as:
- Red eye.
- Blurred vision.
- Eyes feel sore or hot.
- Easily dazzled.
- The eye feels like possessing a foreign object.
What causes the onset of nocturnal lagophthalmos?
Nocturnal disorders occur due to facial paralysis , that is, on the part of orbicularis in the eyelids can be temporary or permanent. The cause is the presence of infection, stroke, surgery, trauma, or Bell’s palsy (weakness in the muscles of the face). In addition, nocturnal lagophthalmos can also occur after undergoing blepharoplasty, i.e. the procedure to remove excess skin on upper eyelids when aging occurs. This surgery can make young faces, but the risk to develop larger lagophthalmos.
There are several diseases that can also lead to sleep with eyes open. For example, lyme disease, chicken pox, mumps, polio, leprosy, diphtheria, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, moebius syndrome, and neuromuscular disease. Abnormalities of the eyes like exophthalmos (bulging eyes) can also make someone harder to close the eyelid. Then, the upper and lower lashes are too thick can also cause the eyes difficult to close perfectly.
Is it safe to sleep with my eyes open?
The eyelid gives a barrier and provide access to tears to wet the surface of the eye. In tears, there is a natural antibiotic that helps kill viruses and bacteria. In addition, the tears are also helping to keep the environment around the eyes remain moist so that the eye cells to function properly. When the eyelids are not closed during sleep, it will cause dry and red eye in the morning. If it continues to happen, it is likely to be experiencing eye irritation and can harm your eyesight, such as damage to the cornea or blindness.
How to treat or prevent sleep with eyes closed?
The eyes are sore and red when waking up is not necessarily the symptoms of nocturnal lagophthalmos. Plus, you yourself can not tell if you fall asleep with your eyes open or not. For that, you have to consult to the doctor and follow some of the checks to get a proper diagnosis and treatment. Actually sleeping with open eyes not always result in serious, if you can handle it with eye drops and use of eye moisturizer according to the advice and supervision of the doctor or also get used to sleeping with blindfold. If the condition is severe, it is likely to be recommended to undergo surgery.
Thank you very much for reading Sleeping with eyes open disorder, hopefully useful.
