What Are Eye Herpes?

Herpes simplex virus is known to affect many areas of the body. The good news is when the herpes simplex virus affects the eyes it can be treated, but the symptoms can be very unpleasant. There is no cure for the herpes simplex virus and there will be times of reoccurrence.

Because there is no cure for the herpes simplex virus the symptoms need to be treated right away so the symptoms will go away as quickly as possible, until the next outbreak occurs. The main symptom of eye herpes is inflammation of the cornea. Inflammation of the cornea causes severe pain and blurred vision. Other symptoms of eye herpes include: excess watering eyes and photophobia which is a strong irritation to bright lights.

Treatment of eye herpes includes steroid eye drops, or specially prescribed ointment and eye drops for herpes of the eye. It's important to treat the symptoms right away to avoid prolonged use of steroid eye drops as they can result in cataracts or problems with one's eye sight. At the time of treatment the sufferer may also be prescribed antiviral medications to shorten the duration of the symptoms.

It is important to remember not to scratch your eyes and to ensure proper hand cleaning techniques not to spread the viral infection. The virus can be easily spread in such a manner of you touching your eye, touching someone else who then touches their eye. The person then will run the risk of having eye herpes also.

Remember eye herpes are basically a cold sore of the eye. The same types of cold sores people get around their mouths is the same virus that affects the eyes. It's not known why some people end up with reinfection and reactivation of the herpes simplex virus.

If you are unsure of the symptoms you are having and how to go about treating them it's always best to get the advice of your medical care provider for proper treatment and diagnosis.

Source:

Digital Journal of Ophthalmology: Herpes Simplex Virus in the Eye

UIC: Ocular Herpes Simplex