Meaning & use
trichiasis
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
A condition in which eyelashes grow inward and rub against the eyeball, causing pain, redness and sometimes damage.
Grammar: Not used with an or a plural: she has trichiasis, not a trichiasis.
Patterns
- suffer from trichiasis
- treat trichiasis
Trichiasis can make a person feel as if there is sand in the eye.
The surgeon removed the lashes that were causing the patient's trichiasis.
Untreated trichiasis may scar the cornea.
Common combinations
- surgery for trichiasis
- Surgery for trichiasis can prevent vision loss.
- develop trichiasis
- Some people develop trichiasis after eye infections.
- trichiasis of the eyelid
- Trichiasis of the lower eyelid made her eye water.
- trachoma-related trichiasis
- Trachoma-related trichiasis is a major cause of blindness in some regions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ingrown eyelashes
- Ingrown eyelashes is the plain-language phrase, while trichiasis is the formal medical name.
- misdirected lashes
- Misdirected lashes describes the problem in clinical but non-Latin language, and is a little longer than trichiasis.
- distichiasis
- Distichiasis means an extra row of lashes grows, which is a different condition from trichiasis.
Word family
- trichiatic adjective
- relating to trichiasis
- trachoma noun
- an eye infection that can lead to trichiasis
- trichology noun
- the study of hair and scalp
- entropion noun
- an eyelid turned inward, which can cause trichiasis
Commonly confused: trichiasis or trichinosis?
trichiasis vs trichinosis
Trichinosis is an illness caused by eating undercooked meat containing parasites, and has nothing to do with eyelashes.
Practice
The ophthalmologist said the patient's irritation was caused by ___, where lashes grow back toward the eye.
Choose one answer.
Trichiasis is the inward growth of lashes. Trichinosis is a parasite illness and sounds similar, while cataract and glaucoma affect other parts of the eye.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trichiasis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.