Corneal Ulcer: Yup, Your Stomach is Not the Only One That Can Get Ulcers

Your cornea is the transparent covering of the eyes. It’s the one that helps ensure that light entering the eyes is properly focused so that you may see everything clearly. Needless to say, your cornea needs to remain in an excellent shape in order to keep your sharp vision intact.

Unfortunately, the cornea is not impervious to being damaged. Just like your stomach, it can develop ulcers. This article will get you introduced to what’s known as corneal ulcer.

So if you cannot imagine a life in which you cannot see anything, keep on reading. Below you will come across some of the most important things that you need to know about corneal ulcer, such as its causes, signs and symptoms, and treatment. Don’t forget to share this article on your various social media sites afterwards to get everybody you care about get to know corneal ulcer, too.

Causes

According to eye specialists, the leading cause of corneal ulcer is an infection. Your eyes are exposed to the environment and that is why it can get easily infected, including most especially your cornea which sits on the top of your iris, the colored part of the eye.

Do you wear contact lenses all the time? Then you are at risk of having corneal ulcer. This is most especially true if you do not clean your contact lenses properly. A contaminated contact lens can introduce bacteria to your cornea. Those bacteria can produce toxins capable of causing ulcers on the cornea.

Even if your contact lenses are clean, you may still end up with corneal ulcer if you put on expired ones or wear disposable contact lenses for a very long time.

An eye infection due to the herpes simplex virus may affect the cornea, and it’s also something that can lead to corneal ulcer. Unnecessary sun exposure, stress and anything that can weaken your immune system can cause a flare up, just like a cold sore which is caused by the very same virus.

It’s not just bacteria and viruses that can cause corneal ulcer as a result of an infection, but also fungi. A fungal infection affecting the eye can happen after an injury to the eye involving a plant or any material that has something to do with plants. It’s more common in people whose immune systems are weak.

Eye experts say that other things that could cause corneal ulcer to strike include having dry eyes, an eye injury, being deficient in vitamin A, and having an inflammatory disorder.

Signs and Symptoms

Actually, you may see a corneal ulcer if it’s present. It appears as a white or gray spot on your cornea. However, in some instances it’s not visible to the naked eye, in particular if the corneal ulcer in small. An eye specialist will be able to see it using magnification and light.

Even though you may not see a corneal ulcer, it’s for certain that you will feel its presence. Definitely, it will seem as though that there is something in your eye that is not supposed to be there, like a tiny foreign object. If the cause of your corneal ulcer is an infection, you will experience the likes of eye inflammation and redness, and there may be discharge or pus. You may also experience sensitivity to light, plus everything that you look at seems blurry.

Treatment

If an infection is the cause, the eye doctor may prescribe antibacterial, antiviral or antifungal medications. Corticosteroid eye drops may be recommended if there’s inflammation.

During the treatment, you will be discouraged from wearing contact lenses, putting on makeup and touching your eyes unnecessarily. Severe cases of corneal ulcers may warrant corneal transplants.

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