Shocking images of an eye condition caused by not removing mascara properly have been released alongside a case study published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology in May.
Theresa Lynch, a 50-year-old woman from Australia, went to her doctor complaining of eye irritation and was referred to a surgeon, who lifted up her eyelids to discover hard, dark calcified concretions containing mascara build-up over 25 years. Incorrect cleansing had resulted in small fragments of mascara becoming lodged under her eyelids and had caused dark spots of conjunctivitis.
Lynch and her surgeon have decided to release the photos in order to highlight the importance of removing eye makeup every single night.
She said: ‘They were embedded so deep that particles were building up on top of each other. I was so uncomfortable. My eyelids were swollen and heavy because I left it for so long. I was shocked, I thought I had done permanent damage to my eyelid and I would never get back to normal.’
Lynch had to undergo a 90-minute operation to remove all of the lumps from her eyes, but has been left with permanent scarring on her eyelids and the surface of her cornea. If it had been left untreated, it could have resulted in blindness.
