A mom of two nearly lost her vision after 25 years of not removing her mascara
Have you ever fallen asleep with your makeup on? We doubt you will again.
A woman in Sydney, Australia almost lost her vision after failing to remove her mascara properly for 25 years.
Theresa Lynch visited a doctor after she began experiencing eye irritation, discharge and pain that no over-the-counter eye drops could remedy.
The 50-year-old mother of two says she was shocked when doctors told her she had developed solid black calcified bumps under her eyelids.
Doctors had to put Lynch under general anesthesia to remove the lumps, known as concentrations, during a 90-minute procedure in order to save her vision.
“[The lumps] were embedded so deep that particles were building on top of each other,” Lynch explained to the Daily Mail. “I was so uncomfortable. My eyelids were swollen and heavy because I left it for so long.”
Lynch says her doctor, Dr. Robaei, was shocked when she looked under her eyelids, “She could see the whites of my eyes were glassy and bloodshot.”
Photos are available on the Daily Mail website, however – unless you have a strong stomach, we advise against viewing.
The American-born housekeeper never thought failing to remove her make-up on a daily basis would ever lead to such a serious health scare saying, “I had fallen into a bad habit of wearing a lot of makeup and not washing it off. I should have never let it get this far.”
Ever since her concentrations were removed, Lynch hopes her story will ensure other people make properly removing their makeup a priority.
“It’s so important to properly take your makeup off every single night,” she warned. “You can’t miss a single day.”
Lynch’s doctor published a study on her case and detailed how the small deposits of mascara had eventually accumulated under both eyelids.
“Every time Theresa was blinging these bumps were rubbing on the surface of the eye and they pose a risk to her vision,” Robei explained. “It was certainly disabling. She has suffered permanent scarring on her eyelid and the surface of her cornea. The symptoms are like somebody throwing a handful of sand in your eye, it’s constantly irritating.”
Robei is also warning women (and men who wear makeup) to be meticulous about removing their mascara, and advises double cleansing to remove make-up residue.
“This was an amazing case, I’d never seen anything like it,” Robei said. “But this is a risk not many people are aware of.”
That settles that! We will never fall asleep with mascara on again. Like, ever.
Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Check out our brand new podcast, Make It Reign — our hot takes on all things royals in a non-stuffy way — on iTunes and Google Play.
