Keratoconjunctivitis

Keratoconjunctivitis
Adenoviral Keratoconjunctivitis
SpecialtyOphthalmology
SymptomsRed eye, discomfort/irritation, sensitivity to light, watering, blurred vision, discharge[1]
CausesViral, bacterial, autoimmune, allergic, chemicals[1]

Keratoconjunctivitis is inflammation ("-itis") of the cornea and conjunctiva; a combination of keratitis and conjunctivitis.[1] It typically presents with discomfort and irritation in the eye with sensitivity to light, excess tears, blurred vision and wanting to scratch the eyes.[1] The eye appears red, swollen and has a discharge.[1]

There are many causes including viral, bacterial, autoimmune, allergic and from chemicals.[1]

Types

There are several potential causes of the inflammation:

  • Dry eye syndrome: the inflammation is due to dryness. It occurs with 20% of people with rheumatoid arthritis.[1]
  • Vernal keratoconjunctivitis: keratoconjunctivitis occurring in spring, and is usually considered to be due to allergens.[1]
  • Atopic keratoconjunctivitis: a manifestation of atopy.
  • Adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis: caused by an adenovirus infection.[1]
  • Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis: is a disease affecting cattle caused by the bacteria Moraxella bovis.
  • Pink eye in sheep and goat: is another infectious keratoconjunctivitis of veterinary concern, mostly caused by Chlamydophila pecorum.[2]
  • Superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis: is thought to be caused by mechanical trauma.
  • Keratoconjunctivitis photoelectrica (arc eye): means inflammation caused by photoelectric UV light. It is a type of ultraviolet keratitis. Such UV exposure can be caused by arc welding without wearing protective eye glass, or by high altitude exposure from sunlight reflected from snow ("snow blindness"). The inflammation will only appear after about 6 to 12 hours. It can be treated by rest, as the inflammation usually heals after 24–48 hours. Proper eye protection should be worn to prevent keratoconjunctivitis photoelectrica.

Signs and symptoms

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Burrow, Michael K.; Patel, Bhupendra C. (2022). "Keratoconjunctivitis". StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. PMID 31194419.
  2. "Merck Veterinary Manual". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
Classification



This article is issued from Offline. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.