Is one of the major reasons you need to take proper care of your lenses. Still, while improperly handling and storing your lenses is among the most common causes of this infection, it is not the only cause for it. So what exactly is Bacterial Keratitis and what can you do to prevent it, we will take a look below.
What is Bacterial Keratitis?
This is a type of infection of the cornea of the eye, which is the curved colourless outermost part of your eye, directly over the iris. It is most commonly caused by injuries of your eye or in cases where you do not take proper care and disinfect your lenses.
This infection can be relatively severe and in some cases, if left untreated, it can seriously harm the eyesight of an individual. It is also an infection that progresses very quickly, depending on the bacteria which causes it, which only adds to the urgency for action.
What are the symptoms of Bacterial Keratitis?
There are a number of symptoms, which may alert about the presence of this infection. Some of them include:
- vision loss
- pain in the eye
- light sensitivity
- redness
- discharge
- feeling of foreign object in the eye
If you experience multiple of those symptoms, you should set an appointment with your opthamologist right away, as this condition infection can cause heavy damage to your sight.
Risk factors for Bacterial Keratitis
Poor maintenance of your lenses. Whether you fail to clean them, store them or use them improperly, those are all circumstances that raise the risk if developing this infection. Leaving your lenses out in the open, sleeping with your lenses and avoiding disinfection, may all play a part into making your lens a danger to your eyes.
Weakened immune system is another major risk factor. When there are some other conditions affecting your health, this could contribute to a faster progression and makes it easier for the infection to start in the first place.
How do you treat Bacterial Keratitis?
The treatment for this infection is relatively straightforward and it's nature depends on the stage and severity. A must, for the treatment involves prescribing new lenses, if they were established to be the cause of the infection appearing in the first place or in some cases even stopping the use of such altogether.
Antibiotic drops are the other step, which is used to treat this infection. They, however, can also be prescribed in a pill alternative. In the most severe cases, there is a possibility for surgery in order to place a cornea implant, if the damage was too extensive. Steroid drops can also be used for the treatment.
Other than that, you will be prescribed different medications in order to deal with the various other symptoms like pain. If the damage is way too big and irreparable, the patient might benefit from various visual aids too.
This infection can be very treacherous, so timely action is essential in mitigating the damage from it. Make sure to keep your lenses well maintained and stored correctly, in order to avoid this and many other infections.