Keratitis is an inflammatory disease that occurs on the cornea of the eye, a very common ocular disorder.
The cornea is on the surface of what we often call the black eyeball, which is a colorless and transparent protective film. Under the cornea, there is also a layer of brown-black iris, which is used to shade the light and adjust how much light enters, and the black eyeball we see is actually the color of the iris reflected through the cornea.
It is precisely because the cornea is located in the outermost layer of the eyeball, so any damage, such as eye trauma, chemicals into the eye, or the eye is infected by viruses, bacteria, etc., and even some immune diseases in the body, may cause eye lesions and lead to keratitis.
At present, cases of keratitis caused by viral infections are more common, such as SARS virus, avian influenza virus, herpes simplex virus and so on.
The main symptom of keratitis
Cornea is the most abundant place of human nerves, as the saying goes, "the eyes can not tolerate sand", once the cornea is stimulated, it is easy to cause more intense pain, foreign body feeling, but also irritating tears.
As mentioned above, the light from the outside world enters the eye through the cornea, and if the cornea is stimulated and inflammation occurs, the sensitivity of the cornea will be enhanced, and photophobia will occur.
Keratitis can also show symptoms of red eyes, but since the cornea itself does not have blood vessels, it is usually the edge area of the cornea (dark eyeballs) that are red.
In addition, symptoms of corneal whitishing may also occur, the cornea itself is transparent, if there is a sudden whitis, you also need to be vigilant against keratitis. There are some severe keratitis, the cornea becomes cloudy, and there may be scarring in the later stages, affecting vision.
Factors that predispose to keratitis
Traumatic infection: Infection may occur after trauma, chemicals, etc. damage to the cornea.
Do not pay attention to eye hygiene: such as rubbing eyes, staying up late to play mobile phones, working overtime and other excessive use of eyes.
Dry eyes: patients with dry eye disease and Sjogren syndrome are more likely to have corneal damage and infection due to insufficient secretion of tear fluid and less tear film on the surface of the eye.
Inverted eyelashes: Eyelashes grow towards the inside of the eye, which will constantly stimulate the surface of the eyeball, and over time, it is easy to cause corneal damage and infection.
Long-term wearing of contact lenses: wearing contact lenses for a long time and beautifying the pupils can easily cause corneal hypoxia and poor metabolism of ocular surface cells. If there is a defect in the cornea and the cornea is scratched when wearing contact lenses, keratitis is more likely to occur.
Viral infection: such as herpes simplex virus, herpes zoster virus, avian influenza virus, especially herpes simplex virus infection, once infected, will be carried in the human trigeminal ganglia for life, once the resistance is reduced, stay up late, etc., there is a certain probability of repeated keratitis.
Severe keratitis may cause pus in the eye, causing ulcers, scars, perforations in the eyes, and the contents of the eyes may come out, and cataracts, iritis, and endophthalmitis may occur.
Therefore, after suffering from keratitis, it must be treated in time!
Treatment of keratitis begins with the identification of the cause
If the infection is caused, it is necessary to distinguish between viruses, bacteria, fungi or amoebic protozoa and other infections, and then targeted anti-infective treatment, and the treatment drug is selected according to the specific pathogen and type.
Antiviral drugs: ganciclovir, etc.;
Antibacterial drugs: gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin, tobramycin, etc.;
Antifungal drugs: natamycin, amphotericin, etc.;
Antiamoeba protozoal drugs: there is no specific drug, but chlorhexidine and the like can be used.
If there is a wound in the cornea, some nutritional and protective drugs that promote wound healing should also be used; there are also drugs that reduce the proliferation of scar tissue, such as hormone drugs.
However, it should be noted that because hormonal drugs may accelerate the rate of eye ulcers and thin the cornea, they are generally not used during acute infection.
If keratitis is caused by systemic diseases, systemic diseases also need to be treated.
If keratitis is already very serious and repeatedly ineffective after drug treatment, then the last killer can only be used - corneal transplant surgery for treatment.
References: Medical Microvision official website - Li Ying Chief Physician "Keratitis"