Drooping Eyelids

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Reviewed By:

Bret Mobley

Bret Mobley, MD, MS (Neuropathology)

Dr. Mobley graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School, completing a masters degree in neuroscience between his second and third years of medical school. He trained as a resident in pathology at Stanford University Hospital before joining the faculty of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville Tennessee in 2010. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018 and to Neuropathology Division Director in 2020.

Shohei Harase

Shohei Harase, MD (Neurology)

Dr. Harase spent his junior and senior high school years in Finland and the U.S. After graduating from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology), he worked for Apple Japan Inc. before entering the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, where he received the Best Resident Award in 2016 and 2017. In 2021, he joined the Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, specializing in hyperacute stroke.

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Content updated on Jan 4, 2023

About the symptom

Ptosis is drooping of the upper eyelid. This may block vision. It can be caused by weak eyelid muscles or by eyelid swelling.

When to see a doctor

Seek professional care if you experience any of the following symptoms

  • Blurring of vision

  • double vision

  • Recent weight loss

  • Impossible to walk normally

  • Fever

  • Slurred speech

  • Unilateral blindness

  • Dysphagia

  • Disorder of consciousness

  • Abnormal sensation (tingling, prickling)

  • Involuntary movements

  • History of cerebrovascular disorder

  • Eye movement disorder

  • Easy fatiguability

  • Headache

  • Altered mental status (delirium)

  • Muscle weakness in the limbs

  • Eye pain

  • Photophobia

  • Visual field defect

  • Numbness / sensory disorder

Possible causes

  • Myasthenia gravis

    A condition where there is a breakdown in the normal communication between nerves and muscles, resulting in muscle weakness and easy fatigability. It is caused by abnormal immune reaction where your immune system produces antibodies that mistakenly attacks healthy parts of the body.

  • Cluster headache

    This condition presents with repetitive brief headaches that occur as episodes of severe pain (characteristically on one side of the head) associated with possible eye redness/tearing or runny nose, occurring in bouts or "clusters" of several per day, possibly lasting for weeks or even months in a row. The pain can be disabling, interfering greatly with daily life.

  • Muscular dystrophy

    A group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. In this condition, abnormal genes (mutations) interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle.

  • Lambert-Eaton syndrome
  • Tolosa Hunt syndrome
  • Mediastinal tumor
  • Botulism

  • Noonan syndrome

Related serious diseases

  • Cerebral infarction

    Cerebral infarction is the term given to damage to brain tissue as a result of stroke. Cerebral infarction occurs due to reduced blood supply and oxygen delivery to the brain. This results in the death of brain cells and brain damage. It is usually caused by a blood clot or fatty/ cholesterol plaques blocking a blood vessel to the brain, but can also happen if a blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into the brain.

  • Aseptic meningitis

Questions your doctor may ask about this symptom

Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this symptom

  • Do you have drooping of the eyelid(s) that sometimes cover part of the eye?

  • Do you have a fever?

  • Do you have a sore throat?

  • Do you have a runny nose?

  • Do you have phlegm?

Other Related Symptoms

Similar symptoms or complaints

Reviewed By:

Bret Mobley

Bret Mobley, MD, MS (Neuropathology)

Dr. Mobley graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School, completing a masters degree in neuroscience between his second and third years of medical school. He trained as a resident in pathology at Stanford University Hospital before joining the faculty of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville Tennessee in 2010. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018 and to Neuropathology Division Director in 2020.

Shohei Harase

Shohei Harase, MD (Neurology)

Dr. Harase spent his junior and senior high school years in Finland and the U.S. After graduating from the University of Washington (Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology), he worked for Apple Japan Inc. before entering the University of the Ryukyus School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, where he received the Best Resident Award in 2016 and 2017. In 2021, he joined the Department of Cerebrovascular Medicine at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, specializing in hyperacute stroke.

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