Infant -- one eye open wider than other

[Hoodaddy]

Hi, I'm the proud dad of a five week old boy.  At about 10 days old, he developed either a blocked tear duct or conjunctivitis in his right eye, with some pus and redness.  He did 7 days of antibiotic ointment (plus massage of the duct), and within 14 days or so the eye had cleared up.  Since then, however, it appears that he opens that eye wider than his other eye.  When he is fully alert, at its widest his left upper eye lid covers a few mm of the blue portion of his left eye; in the right eye, at its widest his right upper eye lid tends to be open 1 to 2 mm above the blue portion, exposing the white of the eye.  When looking straight down at the top of his face from above, it seems his right eye and socket may be very slightly further forward than his left eye and socket, which seem very slightly more recessed.  The eyes usually seem to track together , although his left eye at times seems slightly lazy and crosses in towards his nose a bit relative to the right one.  His pupils seem to dilate normally and equally.  He seems to close his left eye more easily than his right; as he is dosing the right eye is sometimes very slightly open when the left is fully closed.  He can close the right eye fully, however, and does seem to blink normally (both eyyes going from open to closed to open again in unison).

Is this a potential problem, or is this just a case of his head not being completely symetrical, as is the case with most folks?  For what it is work, his skull is definitely a bit lopsided, with his right temple sticking out noticably further than his left temple,  It sort of seems like the right eye being bigger and sticking out a bit more fits with that entire corner of his head / face being a bit more prominent than the left side.  At the same time, I've read about brain tumors causing eyes to stick out more than they should.  I know I'm being a paranoid 1st time parent here, but would appreciate any input others may have about this.  I fully intend to ask his doctor about it at his 2 month checkup in three weeks, but am posting here to see if it is something that may warrant a visit to an opthalmologist earlier than that.  Thanks in advance.

[JohnHaganMD]

Could be a problem, droopy eyelid is called "ptosis" sometimes associated with eye muscle problems (strabismus) and sometimes reduced vision in the eye (amblyopia).  Ask your pediatrician to refer the child to a pediatric ophthalmologist. Glaucoma is not usually a problem

JCH MD

[neha_123]

hi doctor my 2 month old baby open his right eye less than left specially when he is about to awake or fall asleep . he is doing this sine birth is that normal or could be a problem ? is it syptoms of gluocoma?

[EricaChavez2124]

Can you please give an update on your sons eye ms being different?

[sad1000]

Hello, I am in the same boat. Was wondering if you could share the outcome of your son's diagnosis. My son is 7 weeks old and he has pretty much the same complications (head and eye). His one eye though is smaller than the other one.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Yes, your o bservations need evaluated by a pediatric ophthalmologist. Have your pediatrician schedule an appoinhtment now (often takes several weeks to get in) and discuss your observations with the pediatrician.

JCH MD