Treatment of Corneal Damage

About the disease

Corneal damage is a condition, whereby the cornea was affected. Cornea is an outer layer of an eye, designed to protect it. It is responsible for protecting an eye from germs, dirt, and chemicals. It is also designed to protect an eye from the ultraviolet. It serves as a barrier. Also, cornea helps an eye to perceive the light by refracting it in the right direction. This way a person is able to see things clearly, both those that are far away and close. Wrong refraction of light by cornea may lead to development of nearsightedness, condition also known as myopia. Some people can develop shortsightedness as a result of wrong diffraction of light by cornea.

The most common causes of corneal damage are trauma or infection. Trauma to cornea can develop as a result of an injury because of scar on the cornea. Previous eye surgery can also lead to development of scarring. That`s why people who underwent eye surgery need to be checked regularly by an ophthalmologist. Scarring can lead to blockage or distortion of light by an eye.

Overall, cornea has three layers: epithelium, stroma and endothelium. Epithelium is responsible for preventing the dirt and other substances getting into an eye. It is also responsible for absorbing tears. Stroma and endothelium are responsible for absorbing the fluid and also maintaining good vision.

Manifestation of corneal damage can start right after an injury or infection or can be latent for quite some time if the damage to cornea was microscopic and scarring did not affect any of the cornea layers at first. In many cases, if the scarring is small, it heals and resolves on its own without a person knowing there was a problem with cornea. Sometimes, however, if a person had recurrent eye infection, additional cornea scarring can develop. Keratitis and ocular herpes are the most common infections which can lead to the development of corneal damage.

Symptoms

• Eye pain
• Sensitivity to light
• Excessive tearing
• Blurred vision
• Discharges
• Redness
• Swelling in rare cases

Diagnosis

• During a general examination, the doctor will examine the cornea to determine if there is scarring or damage to it.
• The doctor will ask if a person had any eye infections lately or any injuries which could have affected the eye.
• The doctor will also check the sensitivity of an eye to the light.
• Imaging tests may be needed to check the inner layers of cornea if the diagnosis is still unclear after general check-up.

Treatment

• Conservative treatment uses antibiotics and special drops to fight the infections and also assuage the inflammation. Treatment may last several days to several weeks until all inflammation is gone.
• Laser treatment can be used to treat scarring.
• Corneal transplantation is used if scarring damaged cornea to the point it needs to be replaced. 

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Sergey Pashchenko