Periorbital cellulitis: cause, symptoms and treatments

Periorbital cellulitis: cause, symptoms, and treatments

Introduction

Periorbital cellulitis is a very common kind of eye infection caused mostly in babies and infants, where their eyelids and some portion of skin around it got inflamed seriously. The doctored term of this infection is preseptal cellulitis. This infection does not normally spread from one eye to another like pink eye, etc.

The cause behind the infection

Periorbital cellulitis mainly occurs due to bacterial infection. The subcutaneous layers of the skin get severely inflamed during this infection. In normal conditions also we have a lot of bacteria or skin flora residing on our skin. If your eyelid got scratched or if any bug bites in your eyelid, a chalazion or a sty, and bacteria surround it as a parasite then this infection occurs.

Symptoms

The most notable symptoms of periorbital cellulitis are:

• Swollen and red eyelids.

• Mild fever.

• Slightly blurred vision.

• Runny nose and cough.

• Pain while moving your eyes.

• Teary eyes.

• Heavy makeup in eyes for a long time.

• Bulgy or sticky eyes cannot be opened smoothly.

• Conjunctivitis (in some cases).

But the victim would not face any kind of problem to visualize anything in this kind of infection.

Treatments and care

Treatments of preseptal cellulitis depend on how much the eye of the baby got affected. If the eyelids of the baby swallow heavily, then they must consult with an ophthalmologist. They do perform various kinds of blood tests, X-rays, etc. to sort out the reason behind the inflammation.

This infection is not that serious kind if it is treated early. If any patient lags in this treatment can lose his/her vision forever. With properly prescribed medication by a physician and a few visits to the doctor, the inflammation can be treated. Initially, oral antibiotics were provided to the baby by the physicians, sometimes these antibiotics were also injected into the baby’s body as well. The parent should inform the doctor regularly about the progress of the periorbital cellulitis in their baby’s eyelids. This will ensure the physician whether the antibiotics are working properly or not!

At the beginning stage, the victim must visit the doctor at a gap of 48 hours to look after the progress in treatment and the severity of their case. Later on, the patient may visit the physician at a gap of one week.

The parents must sure that the infection has totally been cleared before leaving the medication. If some of the leftover's inflammation remains, it can spread more violently afterward. Therefore, it is highly recommended to all the patients and the victim’s parents to complete the full course of the medication.

Risk factors and advices

Some of the factors that should be kept in mind regarding periorbital cellulitis are:

• It is not a long-term disease. But, if the inflammation is not treated properly the preseptal cellulitis can take the form of orbital cellulitis. Orbital cellulitis is a very serious kind of infection that occurs inside the eyeball.

• If the orbital cellulitis has remained untreated then permanent vision loss may also occur.

• Go to a reputed eye clinic if any of the above symptoms have been noticed in any of the infant’s eyes.

• Call your doctor immediately, if the prescribed medicines do not occur properly and more rashes and inflammations come out.

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