- What is keratitis?
Keratitis is a condition in which the cornea becomes inflamed due to many different causes. The cornea, the dark part of our eye, is a transparent, glass-like tissue that we consider the “window to the soul.”
- Causes of keratitis
The causes of keratitis can be divided into infectious and non-infectious. Infectious keratitis has many causes such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, bacteria that cause infections such as Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, herpes simplex virus and Fusarium.
Noninfectious factors include contact lens disorders and trauma. In rare cases, the cause can also be due to autoimmune disease due to corneal nerve damage causing neurokeratitis such as contact keratitis, drug-induced toxic keratitis due to inability to close the eyes. Correct use of contact lenses is very important. If any abnormalities appear while wearing contact lenses, you should stop using them immediately and see an ophthalmologist.
- Symptoms and diagnosis of keratitis
When you have keratitis, you will experience symptoms of eye irritation such as tearing, redness, glare leading to reduced vision, a feeling of stuckness, pain,…
Eye examination with a slit lamp microscope is the most important basic examination when examining keratitis. In some cases, additional tests are needed to determine the exact cause, such as bacterial culture tests.
- Treatment of keratitis
Infectious keratitis caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi is primarily treated with antibacterial medications, and treatment options vary depending on the cause. If symptoms of keratitis occur, delaying seeing a doctor or using eye drops to relieve symptoms can make the disease worse and make treatment difficult.
Therefore, you should see a doctor for an accurate diagnosis before treatment. You can consult your doctor about whether you should use artificial tears, eye ointments, and therapeutic contact lenses. If keratitis is not treated well in the early stages, it can cause serious complications that affect vision recovery, so accurate diagnosis and timely treatment are very important.
- Monitor and note keratitis
Bacterial keratitis progresses more rapidly and is more deadly than any other cause, so early detection and treatment is essential.
Depending on the severity of the inflammation, it may not be completely cured even if the keratitis has been treated and no further symptoms are seen. If vision is impaired, a corneal transplant may be recommended to restore vision. If the inflammation is not only in the cornea but spreads into the eye and causes endothelium, the function of the eye is greatly damaged and vision will not be restored even with a corneal transplant.
Viral keratitis (herpetic keratitis) can also cause corneal perforation due to inflammation of the corneal stroma. Viral keratitis (herpetic keratitis) may recur, and if it recurs, vision may be impaired due to corneal clouding.
In recent years, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been implicated as one of the causative agents of bacterial keratitis in young contact lens wearers. Therefore, it is very important to take care of your eyes hygienically. If you regularly wear contact lenses, you need to pay more attention to eye care to avoid damaging the cornea. You should especially avoid wearing contact lenses to sleep because it can lead to temporary lack of oxygen in the cornea, causing epithelial damage, thereby leading to keratitis.
