The most obvious
sign of ptosis is the drooping eyelid. Depending on how
severely the lid droops, people with ptosis may have
difficulty seeing. Sometimes people tilt their heads back to
try to see under the lid, or raise their eyebrows repeatedly
to try to lift the eyelids.
The degree of
droopiness varies from one person to the next. If you think
you may have ptosis, compare a recent photo of your face to
one from 10 or 20 years ago, and you'll likely see a
difference in the eyelid skin.
Ptosis can look
similar to dermatochalasis, a group of connective tissue
diseases that cause skin to hang in folds. These diseases
are associated with less-than-normal elastic tissue
formation. Your eye doctor should be able to tell whether or
not this is the cause of your drooping eyelids.
