Ancil
One woman has a strange disease that requires her to glue or tape her eyes open.
Tia-Leigh Streamer, a resident of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, UK, must use Botox injections to open her eyes, and after the effects wear off, she must tape and glue her eyelids open.
It all started in May 2023 when she woke up with a droopy eyelid and thought she had hay fever.
However, Southampton Hospital’s physicians and general practitioners couldn’t figure out what had caused it.
She then discovered that she was unable to open either eye when she woke up one day in December 2023.
Streamer was directed to a doctor who said that she might have blepharospasm, an uncommon disorder affecting the eyelids.
Since March 2024, when doctors at Royal Bournemouth Hospital tested Botox injections in her eyelids, she has been unable to open her eyes without the injection.
Even when it works, her eyes may close in response to computer screens, sunshine, and automobile headlights.
Streamer can only see after the Botox wears off if she holds her eyes open with her hands or tapes or glues her eyelids open.
Blepharospasm, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a disorder in which your eyes are forced shut by involuntary muscular twitches or spasms. In severe circumstances, you may lose your vision.
Although there is currently no cure for the illness, it is treatable.
Streamer said: “To be told I’ve got this for the rest of my life and not know why is a hard thing to deal with.
“I’ve not been coping very well. I was prescribed antidepressants half-way through it. I didn’t get along with them. I tried therapy, I’ve tried hypnotherapy but nothing was helping.
“The longer it’s gone on I’ve gotten used to it but there are still days where I get really down about it. Especially as the Botox runs out.
“The more often I have it, at some point my body will get used to the Botox and it won’t work anymore.
“I have them done every eight to 10 weeks at the moment. It was 12 weeks. But I only get about three to five weeks where it actually takes any effect.”
She also mentioned that she “can’t blink at all” when she glues or tapes them open, which medical professionals have cautioned may increase her risk of eye damage and eventual blindness.
Streamer was pursuing her accounting degree prior to developing symptoms of the illness. Due to her blepharospasm, she has been forced to quit her job.
“I was training to be an accountant and then as soon as I got ill I was basically told that this was something that I could never do because of the computer screens,” she shared.
“It was awful to be honest, I had everything planned out. I was training to do that and I was saving to move out and get married and have children and it was all taken away from me.”
According to Streamer, the “main thing” that she finds difficult is the independence that her illness has robbed her of.
“I can’t be as independent as much anymore,” she added.
Streamer no longer goes out alone because she becomes “too anxious,” which keeps her from engaging in her hobbies, like crocheting.
Streamer took Botox treatments to guarantee she could see on her important day after getting married in December 2024.
“I wanted to make sure that I had the Botox two weeks before my wedding because it takes my eyes about a week to open after I’ve had it done,” she recalled.
“It was a scary day and I think that’s one of the reasons that prompted us to get married so quickly.
“I wanted to make sure I was going to be able to get married and be able to have my eyes open to see what’s going on.
“It [having a baby] is something that I worry about and I often have nightmares about it to be honest because even when I have Botox done, at night-time my eyes don’t open.
“Night-time is the worst, they just won’t open at all. I have nightmares about a baby next to me and it’s crying and I can’t wake my husband up and I can’t get around to help because of my eyes.
“I do know now there are things that can be put in place to help because obviously people who are blind all the time still have children.”
According to Streamer, finding the optimal course of action for her ailment will need trial and error.
The amount of Botox her doctor applies to the upper and lower lids of her eyes will be adjusted. He also may change where he injects.
The duration of these alterations will be tracked and evaluated.
Streamer added: “It’s about hoping he’ll be able to find a better balance so we can have some longer effects out of the Botox.”
