Cornea and External Ocular Diseases
What is the Cornea?
The cornea is an important part of your vision. When light enters the cornea, the light focuses on a single point on the retina, located at the back of the eye. This produces a clear image. If the cornea becomes damaged due to injury, disease, or infection, the light will become distorted as your vision will be blurry. Not all blurry vision is due to corneal disease; many times, blurry vision is caused by astigmatism.
Symptoms of Corneal Disease
When injured, the cornea can typically heal itself quickly. However, if the interior layers of the cornea are damaged, the healing process may take longer and you may experience the following symptoms:
- Eye pain
- Blurred vision
- Tearing
- Redness
- Sensitivity of light
- Scarring of the cornea
Causes of Corneal Diseases
- Eye infections, such as bacterial, fungal, or viral
- Aging
- Cataract and/or intraocular lens implant surgery
- Genetics
- Contact lenses
- Trauma to the eye
- Certain eye diseases
- Systemic diseases such as Down syndrome
Types of Corneal Diseases
There are many types of corneal diseases. A dilated eye exam by your Waco corneal disease expert can properly diagnose and treat the condition.
Keratitis
Keratitis is when the cornea becomes inflamed. This can happen when the cornea becomes infected due to bacteria coming into contact with eye. Treatment for keratitis typically includes antibiotic or antifungal eye drops.
Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
Shingles, also known as adult chickenpox, can cause corneal damage. The virus can cause blisters or lesions on the cornea. These lesions typically heal on their own but antiviral treatment can help reduce infection time. For extreme shingle cases, chronic inflammation of the cornea may occur once the virus is no longer active. If this happens, patients will need to use eye drops or may even require surgery.
Corneal Dystrophies
There are over 20 types of corneal dystrophies, which affect the structure of the cornea. These diseases are mostly progressive and can be genetic. Some of the most common types of corneal dystrophies is Keratoconus, Map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy, and Fuch’s dystrophy.
The only way to determine if you have damage to your cornea is to have a dilated eye exam. In addition to dilating your eyes, your Waco eye doctor will use a slit lamp to examine your cornea for signs of injury or disease.
Schedule An Appointment Today
If you have noticed changes if your vision, or have recently experienced an injury or trauma to your eye, schedule an eye exam today. The eye specialists at Brazos Eye Surgery of Texas can determine the best treatment options.
