Cornea And External Diseases
The cornea is the outer protective layer of the eye, serving as a barrier against dirt, foreign objects, germs, and any other outside threats that may cause damage. It’s also responsible for filtering out some of the ultraviolet light caused by the sun.
This part of the eye is crucial when it comes to your overall vision. When light enters the eye, the curved edge of the cornea refracts and bends it, which plays a key role in determining your eye’s ability to focus. If the cornea is affected by things like disease, infection, or injury, it will have issues properly handling the light entering the eye, directly leading to a wide range of related vision problems.
How To Tell If Your Cornea Isn’t Healthy
There are a number of different corneal issues that can create noticeable symptoms, including pain, excessive tears, blurry vision, redness, and abnormal sensitivity to light.
What Can Cause Corneal Diseases?
Infection is one of the most common causes of corneal diseases, along with aging, eye trauma, and problems that stem from contact lens usage. Heredity can also be a potential cause.
There are other eye diseases that can cause issues with the cornea, including vernal keratoconjunctivitis and retinitis pigmentosa. Systemic diseases such as Down syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and osteogenesis imperfecta can also lead to the development of corneal diseases.
Common Corneal Diseases and Conditions
Click below for in-depth information regarding specific common corneal diseases and conditions:
Treatment Options
Numerous treatment options are available for cornea and external eye diseases, with each option dependent on the specific issue and its underlying cause.
The Cornea and External Disease Service at the Dean McGee Eye Institute offers the following treatments:
How Dean McGee Eye Institute Can Help
The mission of the Cornea and External Disease Service at the Dean McGee Eye Institute is to provide world-renowned expertise and cutting-edge care to our patients, while advancing the frontiers of medical knowledge and training the next generation of eye specialists.
Our cornea and external disease specialists are available to treat a wide variety of ocular conditions, including corneal dystrophies and degenerations such as keratoconus, corneal infections, tumors of the conjunctiva and iris, dry eye, cataracts, allergic and atopic conjunctivitis, and inflammatory diseases such as episcleritis, scleritis, and uveitis.
