Infective and Inflammatory Eyelid Disorders: Conventional and Unconventional Therapies to Maintain Eye Health and Avoid Lid Surgery

The child is an organism still in development [1]. It follows that, the fewer pharmaceuticals taken throughout the period of growth, the more harmonious the development of the child’s organs and immune system will be [2,3]. Infectious or inflammatory diseases that arise on the eyelid have a variable incidence in childhood, depending on the overall level of health and the lifestyle of the family of origin. Certain conditions, such as herpes or molluscum contagiosum, being infectious, are typical of the child’s inter human contact, as socialization with other children can result in contamination and clinical manifestations typical of the specific virus on the skin or the eyelids [4,5]. The pathogenesis of bacterial infections, such as styes or chalazia, is different, seeing that they are generally caused by an underlying acute or chronic blepharitis. Chalaziosis of the eyelid can be sporadic or recurring; in the latter form especially, it can give rise to acute inflammation and obvious concern on the part of the parents [6], who may be advised to opt for surgery to rapidly resolve the eyelid condition or possible complications affecting the cornea, should there be localized secondary trichiasis. The eventuality of surgery is not only unwelcome to parents of children at any pediatric age, but especially if the child is younger than three, it poses a potential problem for neurocognitive development. During this period neuronal development is not yet complete, and certain anesthesiological studies still underway recommend abstaining from general anesthesia with children less than three years of age, unless it proves indispensable. A number of authors see a correlation between the risk of developing dyslexia or neurocognitive alterations and precocious exposure of children to general anesthesia for pathologies that make it necessary [7,8]. Thus the need to view infectious and inflammatory pathologies Abstract