Diseases and Disorders of the Cornea Doctor Eye Institute – Diseases and Disorders of the Cornea
Allergic Conjunctivitis
Allergies – Allergies affecting the eye are fairly common.
Common in children
The most common allergies are those related to pollen, particularly when the weather is warm and dry.
Symptoms can include redness, itching, tearing, burning, stinging, and watery discharge, although they are not usually severe enough to require medical attention Environmental change in weather helps the symptoms such as rain and cooler weather, which decreases the amount of pollen in the air.
Treatment.
- Cold water compresses
- Antihistamine decongestant, Mast cell stabilizer eyedrops can effectively reduce these symptoms
- Low potent steroids
An increasing number of eye allergy cases are related to medications and contact lens wear. Also, animal hair and certain cosmetics, such as mascara, face creams, and eyebrow pencil, can cause allergies that affect the eye. Touching or rubbing eyes after handling nail polish, soaps, or chemicals may cause an allergic reaction.
Allergy symptoms are temporary and can eliminated by not having contact with the offending cosmetic or detergent.
Conjunctivitis (PINK EYE)
This term describes a group of diseases that cause swelling, itching, burning, and redness of the conjunctiva, the protective membrane that lines the eyelids and covers exposed areas of the sclera, or white of the eye.
At its onset, conjunctivitis is usually painless and does not adversely affect vision. The infection will clear in most cases without requiring medical care. But for some forms of conjunctivitis, treatment will be needed. If treatment is delayed, the infection may worsen and cause corneal inflammation and a decrease in vision.
- Infective- Bacterial, Viral, Contact lens induced, Environmental Irritants
- Non Infective-Allergic
Symptoms: swelling, itching, burning and redness of the conjunctiva.
- Can be bacterial or viral
- Spreads from one person to the other
- Acute- less than 4 weeks -Subacute & chronic-more than 4 weeks
- Requires antibiotic drops, lubricating drops, cold water compresses
Corneal Ulcer
a) Damage caused to the cornea due to injury i.e foreign body penetrating the corneal tissue , Vegetative matter like leaf , injury during welding ,organism entering through contaminated contact lens or lens solution .
Symptoms: Pain, discharge ,Decrease in the vision
As a general rule, the deeper the corneal infection, the more severe the symptoms and complications. It should be noted that corneal infections, although relatively infrequent, are the most serious complication of contact lens wear
b) Organism affecting cornea may be bacterial, fungal, parasitic
c) Treatment
- Medical : treatment in most cases based on the organism causing the ulcer could be Antibiotic or antifungal drops
- Frequent visits to an eye care professional may be necessary for several months to eliminate the problem
- Surgical : Corneal Transplant in refractory cases
Corneal Dystrophies
A corneal dystrophy is a condition in which one or more parts of the cornea lose their normal clarity due to a build up of cloudy material. There are over 20 corneal dystrophies that affect all parts of the cornea.
These diseases share many traits:
- They are usually inherited.
- They affect the right and left eyes equally.
- They are not caused by outside factors, such as injury or diet.
- Most progress gradually.
- Most usually begin in one of the five corneal layers and may later spread to nearby layers.
- Most do not affect other parts of the body, nor are they related to diseases affecting other parts of the eye or body.
- Most can occur in otherwise totally healthy people, male or female.
Symptoms:
Corneal dystrophies affect vision in widely differing ways. Some cause severe visual impairment, while a few cause no vision problems and are discovered during a routine eye examination. Other dystrophies may cause repeated episodes of pain without leading to permanent loss of vision. Some of the most common corneal dystrophies include Fuchs’ dystrophy, keratoconus, lattice dystrophy, and map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy.
Treatment:
Asymptomatic dystrophies need no treatment Corneal transplant for vision in symptomatic patients..