Remember!
Before performing any eye procedure:
Wash your hands (and afterwards too)
Position the patient comfortably with his/her head supported
Avoid distraction for yourself and the patient
Ensure good lighting
Always explain to the patient what you are going to do.
Indications
To remove ingrowing eyelashes (trichiasis)
To prevent corneal abrasion
You will need
Magnification (magnifying loupe)
Torch or flashlight
Gauze swabs
Local anaesthetic eye drops
Epilation forceps
A helper
Preparation
Explain the procedure and advise the patient that it will cause some very brief discomfort
The patient, helper, and examiner should be positioned appropriately. The helper can hold the torch (Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Murray McGavin
Method
Instil the local anaesthetic eye drops
-
Using magnification, identify the eyelashes which need epilating (Figure 2)
For lower eyelashes:
ask the patient to look up, fix his/her gaze, and keep still
with an index finger, gently hold down the lower eyelid
For upper eyelashes:
ask the patient to look down, fix his/her gaze, and keep still
with a thumb, gently ease the upper eyelid up against the orbital rim
With the epilation forceps in the other hand, hold the ingrowing eyelash close to its base and pull gently forward to pluck it out (Figure 3)
Repeat until all ingrowing lashes are epilated
Between each epilation, wipe the eyelash off the forceps with a clean swab (Figure 4)
Reassure the patient when all ingrowing lashes have been removed and advise him/her not to rub the eye.
Figure 2.
Murray McGavin
Figure 3.
Murray McGavin
Figure 4.
Murray McGavin