Ocular Herpes

4/4/16

Ocular Herpes
Ocular Herpes also know as eye herpes affects the eye
and it has many forms
Herpes keratitis
Stromal keratitis
Iridocyclitis

Description
Caused by the type 1 herpes simplex virus, eye herpes
(ocular herpes) is a common, recurrent viral infection
affecting the eyes. This type of herpes virus can cause
inflammation and scarring of thecornea that sometimes is
referred to as a cold sore on the eye. Herpes of the eye
can be transmitted through close contact with an infected
person whose virus is active.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) says an estimated
400,000 Americans have experienced some form of ocular
herpes, with close to 50,000 new and recurring cases
occurring each year.

Symptoms and Signs

Various signs and symptoms are associated with an ocular
herpes outbreak. You may experience inflammation of the
cornea, which can cause an irritation or sudden and
severe ocular pain. Also, the cornea can become cloudy,
leading toblurry vision.

Causes
Eye herpes is transmitted through contact with another person who is
having an outbreak, or through self contact and contamination during an
active herpes infection (such as a cold sore of the lip).

The herpes simplex virus enters the body through the nose or mouth and
travels into the nerves, where it may be inactive. The virus can remain
dormant for years and may never wake up.

The exact cause of an outbreak is unknown, but stress-related factors

such as fever, sunburn, major dental or surgical procedures and trauma
are often associated with incidents.

Once the initial outbreak occurs, the NEI says untreated eye herpes has
about a 40-50 percent chance of returning. There is no specific time
frame for ocular herpes to reappear; it could be several weeks or even
several years following the original occurrence. Although symptoms
usually present themselves in only one eye, the virus possibly could affect

Treatment
Treatment for eye herpes depends on where the infection is located in the eye in
the corneal epithelium, cornealstroma, iris, retina, etc. Some ocular herpes
treatments could aggravate the outbreak and therefore should be considered on a
case-by-case basis.
If the corneal infection is only superficial, it can normally be alleviated by using
antiviraleye dropsor ointments, or oral antiviral pills.
Aneye doctormay treat eye herpes by scraping away the infected corneal epithelial
cells with a cotton swab or corneal "spatula" instrument. This is called debridement.
Although eye herpes has no cure, treatment can help control outbreaks. Studies are
underway to determine better methods for managing the disease.