What Are the Symptoms of Keratitis?
Jun 29, 2022
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Chen You
Introduction
Keratitis presents with symptoms such as a foreign-body sensation, excessive tearing, photophobia, and severe ocular pain—often sudden in onset—along with conjunctival chemosis and circumcorneal injection. In more severe cases, inflammation may involve the iris, significantly impairing vision and causing rapid visual deterioration. If the condition worsens further, blindness may result; common manifestations include intensified eye pain, marked photophobia, and decreased corneal transparency affecting the entire cornea.
The eyes, as vital organs of the human body, play an indispensable role in daily life. When some individuals are exposed to external stimuli—such as trauma or bacterial infection—their eyes may become red, swollen, and painful. Upon medical consultation, they are often diagnosed with keratitis. However, in clinical practice, keratitis encompasses numerous subtypes, each presenting with distinct symptoms. So, what are the characteristic symptoms of keratitis?
What Are the Symptoms of Keratitis?
Keratitis commonly manifests as a foreign-body sensation, excessive tearing, photophobia (light sensitivity), and severe, often sudden-onset ocular pain. Additional signs include conjunctival edema and circumcorneal (limbal) hyperemia. In more advanced cases, inflammation may involve the iris and pupil, leading to significant visual impairment and rapid vision loss. In severe instances, blindness may occur. Typical symptoms at this stage include intensified eye pain, marked photophobia, and a generalized reduction in corneal transparency. Certain areas of the cornea may appear hazy or ground-glass-like. Keratitis often has a protracted course. When corneal ulcers develop, affected regions of the cornea may turn grayish-white; the central ulcer appears depressed, while the anterior chamber becomes cloudy around the lesion, although surrounding corneal tissue remains transparent.
Keratitis caused by bacterial infection typically has an acute onset, with pronounced ocular irritation and increased, viscous ocular discharge. The disease progresses rapidly. Most patients have a history of corneal injury—often from plant material—or underlying immunosuppression due to prolonged corticosteroid or antibiotic use. In contrast, viral keratitis—commonly caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) or varicella-zoster virus (VZV)—tends to progress more insidiously, with minimal or subtle ocular irritation and less noticeable symptoms. Nevertheless, it carries a high risk of vision loss. Ocular discharge is scant and typically serous or mucoid. Following primary infection, the virus remains latent within the host’s nervous system and reactivates when systemic immunity declines.
Patients with keratitis are advised to consume protein-rich foods—including lean meats, poultry, organ meats, fish, shrimp, milk, eggs, and legumes—as proteins constitute the primary building blocks of cells and are essential for corneal tissue repair and regeneration. We hope this information proves helpful.
