Infections and hypersensitivity of the eyelids

Staphylococci, along with the generally more benign diphtheroids, are the most prevalent normal bacterial inhabitants of the eyelid skin, margins, and pilosebaceous glands. Staphylococci are also the most common cause of bacterial eyelid infections. Manifestations of such infections are multiple and include squamous and ulcerative marginal blepharitis, angular blepharitis, infectious eczematoid dermatitis, subcutaneous preseptal cellulitis, impetigo, acute external and internal hordeola, and possibly chalazia and meibomitis [1, 2]. This variation in clinical presentation refl ects the particular eyelid structures involved by infection, the characteristics of a given strain of staphylococci, and perhaps as well, the individual patient's infl ammatory and immune responses [3].