Horner’s Syndrome Symptoms

Someone who has Horner’s syndrome experiences an impacted nerve running from the brain to the eyes. As a result, it can lead to debilitating conditions that you need to be aware of. For example, with an infant – or even an adult – this condition will cause the eye to droop. In most cases, Horner’s syndrome will only impact one side of the face, but there are cases where it can affect both sides. Many times, doctors will look for another birth injury that may have led to this one.

Birth Injury Resources and Information

What are the Symptoms?

Some of Horner’s syndrome symptoms, based on information from the Mayo Clinic, will typically affect only one side of the face. Let’s say that your child had a lesion. Horner’s syndrome will impact the area surrounding the eye.

There a few signs that give away this condition. A child may only display two or three of Horner’s syndrome symptoms, but they could still have it. For example, one of the most obvious signs is that they have a drooping eyelid. This normally happens due to damage of the Muller’s muscle. You may also see a persistently constricted pupil. This has become known as miosis. Another one of the symptoms is that the eye might appear sunken in. Also, when you look into your child’s eyes, you might notice that their pupil dilates slowly and repeatedly in dim light.

What are the Most Common Causes of This Syndrome?

A few things can cause Horner’s syndrome, but doctors will typically look for another birth injury as the reason behind it. In some cases, the condition could clear. But in others, your child might develop cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. There are a few common triggers that can cause this condition, such as:

  • Thoracic surgery
  • Cluster headaches
  • Damage to the aorta
  • Migraines
  • Goiter
  • Neck trauma
  • Tumors
  • Lung cancer

This rare condition only impacts 1.42 people out of every 100,000, which means that it isn’t terribly common, but it could still happen.

Luckily, by itself, this condition won’t cause any health complications. However, many times there is another injury that’s causing this one to occur. Horner’s syndrome is triggered by something dangerous, and doctors should keep a close eye on this. There is no specific treatment for this condition. But, when you treat the cause of the issue, this will often take care of the problem. In the cases where Horner’s syndrome doesn’t have an underlying cause, it will almost always clear up without a problem. You should always have a doctor look into this condition to determine if there isn’t a deeper, underlying cause. If your child was discovered to have an underlying birth injury, you could be entitled to financial support. Discuss your case today.

Get In Touch With Us

[formidable id=2]