However, according to doctors, if this condition lasts, sometimes severely, sometimes mildly, more noticeably at the end of the day or after long-term vision, patients need to be wary of myopia, a neuromuscular disease that needs to be detected early.
BS.CKII Lam Nguyen Thuy An - University Medical Center Hospital HCMC - Branch 3 said that the hospital had received a 45-year-old female patient for examination due to drooping eyelids and double vision lasting about 3 months. Previously, the patient had been treated in many places but the symptoms improved insignificantly because the cause had not been correctly identified.
Through examination, doctors found that the patient had suggestive signs of myasthenia gravis. The Ice pack test result was positive, combined with electromyalgia and acetylcholine receptor antibody test, helping to determine the diagnosis of myopia due to myasthenia gravis.
After being treated in combination with modern medicine and acupuncture, massage according to professional instructions, the condition of drooping eyelashes and double vision of the patient clearly improved after about a week.
According to Dr. An, myopia is a localized manifestation in the eye area of myopia, occurring due to neuromuscular transmission disorders. When nerve signals transmitted to the muscles are no longer as effective as normal, the muscles that lift the eyelids and the optic muscles will gradually weaken, causing drooping eyelids, double vision and eye strain.
The easily recognizable characteristic of the disease is that symptoms often change during the day. In the morning, the patient may feel lighter, but towards the afternoon or after reading books, using the phone, working with the computer for a long time, the condition of drooling eyelashes and double vision becomes clearer. When resting, symptoms usually subside.
Because of the fluctuating manifestations, many people easily mistake it for normal eye strain or signs of aging, leading to late examination," Dr. An said.
In addition to drug treatment, some recent studies have also noted the supporting role of acupuncture in the treatment of myopia. A study published in 2022 by the Xu XP author group showed that patients treated with acupuncture combined with modern medicine had better improvements in the level of eyelid drooping, eyelid lift muscle fatigue and ophthalmic dysfunction compared to the group that only used drugs.
Doctors recommend that people should see a doctor early if signs appear such as drooling of one or both eyelids for a long time, increased drooling of the eyelids when looking for a long time or towards the end of the day, double vision, easy eye strain, or accompanied by difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, weak limbs, shortness of breath.
According to experts, prolonged eyelid drooping is not always a benign manifestation. Behind this symptom may be neurological diseases, neuromuscular conduction disorders, including myasthenia gravis, which need to be diagnosed and treated in the right direction.
