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Keratitis

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Keratitis

Keratitis is an inflammation of the cornea — the clear, dome-shaped tissue on the front of your eye that covers the pupil and iris. Keratitis may or may not be associated with an infection. Noninfectious keratitis can be caused by a relatively minor injury, by wearing your contact lenses too long or by a foreign body in the eye.

Infectious keratitis can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of keratitis include:

  • Eye redness
  • Eye pain
  • Excess tears or other discharge from your eye
  • Difficulty opening your eyelid because of pain or irritation
  • Blurred vision
  • Decreased vision
  • Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
  • A feeling that something is in your eye

Causes

  • Keratitis, the eye condition in which the cornea becomes inflamed, has many potential causes.
  • Various types of infections, dry eyes, abnormalities of the eyelids, injury, and a large variety of underlying medical diseases may all lead to keratitis.
  • Some cases of keratitis result from unknown factors.

Complications

  • Superficial keratitis involving only the superficial layers of the cornea most commonly does not lead to scarring.
  • More extensive keratitis involves deeper layers of the cornea and may produce scarring.
  • If a corneal ulcer develops, a scar may result.
  • This will affect the vision if the central portion of the cornea is involved.
  • With severe ulcerative keratitis, the cornea may perforate, which is an extremely serious situation.

Treatment

  • Treatment depends on the cause of the keratitis.
  • Infectious keratitis generally requires antibacterial, antifungal, or antiviral therapy to treat the infection.
  • This treatment can involve prescription eyedrops, pills, or even intravenous therapy.
  • Any corneal or conjunctival foreign body should be removed.
  • Wetting drops may be used if disturbance of the tears is suspected to be the cause of the keratitis.
  • Steroid drops may be prescribed occasionally to reduce inflammation and limit scarring.
  • This must be done carefully and judiciously since some infections can be worsened with their use.
  • Contact-lens wearers are typically advised to discontinue contact-lens wear, whether or not the lenses are related to the cause of the keratitis.

Prevention

  • The risk of keratitis can be reduced through the use of precautions to avoid eye injury, careful contact-lens care including proper cleaning of contact lens cases, and the prompt treatment of early ocular symptoms.