Eyelids and tears
Heavy lids and eyes that keep watering
Lids hold your tears in place and sweep them across the eye. When a lid sags, turns in or the drain blocks, the eye waters, rubs and gets sore. Some of this needs surgery. A lot of it does not.
40 sec“Dry eyes water more, not less.”
Oculoplastic surgeon
What the doctor says
“Dry eyes water more, not less.”
Oculoplastic surgeon · Lids and tear ducts
- A lid covering the pupil is medical. A tired look is cosmetic.
- Lashes rubbing the eye should be corrected, not watched.
- Ask for tear duct syringing and a dry eye check first.
The filmed clip is being recorded. The words above are the same points the doctor makes on camera.
Ask a doctor about my own scansBooked for a lid or tear duct operation? Get it checked first.
Send your scans. A senior eye doctor who will never operate on you reads them and writes a plain answer in two days.
The usual complaints
- Droopy upper lid. If it covers the pupil and cuts your top field of view, lifting it is a real fix. If it only looks tired, it is cosmetic.
- Lid turning in. Lashes scrape the eye. This one should be corrected, because scratches can scar the cornea.
- Lid turning out. The eye dries and waters together. Surgery helps.
- Constant watering. Often a blocked drain. Sometimes, oddly, dry eye making reflex tears.
Operate or not
Surgery is usually needed
- The lid blocks the pupil and you tilt your head to see
- Lashes are rubbing the surface of the eye
- Repeated infections in a swollen tear sac
- A lid lump that is growing, ulcerated or pulling lashes out
You can usually take your time
- Watering that settles with warm compresses and lid cleaning
- Mild sagging that only bothers you in photographs
- A stye or chalazion in its first few weeks
- Dry eye that has never been properly treated
Two simple tests worth asking for
- Syringing the tear duct, to see if it is truly blocked
- A dry eye check, because dry eyes water more, not less
Go to an eye hospital today if
- A painful, swollen, red lump at the inner corner with fever
- A lid drooping suddenly with double vision or a headache
- A lid lump that bleeds or destroys the lash line
Not sure if you need surgery?
Send us your scans. A senior eye doctor who will never operate on you reads them and tells you the truth in two days.