5 Conditions that Can Affect Your Cornea

Did you know that the eye can heal itself after an injury? Your eye comprises several layers that play different roles in keeping your eye safe and ensuring proper function. The cornea is one such layer that protects the eye against germs and particles known to harm it and then heals itself quickly. However, certain conditions can damage your eye extensively and cause Huntingdon Valley cornea problems. Corneal conditions result from deep eye injuries, which cause pain, scarring, and blurred vision. Here is a discussion of a few such conditions.

Keratitis

Your cornea can come in contact with bacteria or fungi after a deep eye injury, leading to infection and inflammation of your cornea. The inflammation of your cornea from such a state is known as keratitis. You can also develop this type of infection when your contact lenses get injured, though rarely. Your symptoms for keratitis will include severe pain, reduced visual clarity, sensitivity to light, and corneal discharge. You may also experience redness and tearing in your cornea.

Herpes of the Eye

You can develop this viral eye infection when the HSV I virus enters your eyes. You can get ocular herpes from sexually transmitted herpes HSV II virus responsible for genital herpes. You will have sores on your corneal surface that cause scarring and reduce vision. Over time, the inflammation will spread deeper into your eye and the cornea. While there is no cure for this corneal condition, your doctor can give you antiviral medications to control it.

Shingles

You develop shingles when the chickenpox virus returns after you previously had the disease. Usually, the virus will stay inactive within the nerves of your body but may later begin to travel down the same nerves and infect your body parts, including your eye. You will develop blisters, lesions on your cornea, pain, and fever from the affected nerves. The lesions usually heal on their own, but your doctor can prescribe antiviral medications to shorten the course of singles.

Corneal Dystrophies

These diseases lead to structural problems with your cornea and come in more than 20 forms. Some common forms of the disease include Keratoconus, map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy, and Fuchs dystrophy.

Keratoconus

With this disease, your cornea progressively thins and changes in shape, creating distortion known as irregular astigmatism and nearsightedness. You will experience scarring and swelling of your cornea and may have vision loss. Your doctor can correct the condition with soft contact lenses. A progressive form of the condition will need rigid gas-permeable contact lenses.

Fuch’s Dystrophy

Your corneal endothelium may gradually deteriorate when you develop this condition. Over time, your cornea will swell and cause blurred vision. Later, blisters may appear on your corneal surface and cause pain and irritation. You will need eye drops and a corneal transplant for chronic pain.

The eye has a cornea that protects it from dirt, germs, and particles that can potentially harm its components. The cornea is also responsible for the filtration of some amount of UV light from the sun. Its three layers play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of an eye. Therefore, when an injury meets the eye, it can damage the cornea and cause many more severe conditions. You may experience severe pain, blurred vision, irritation, and swelling with corneal conditions, so seeking early treatment can prevent the worsening of such symptoms.