Between 20 and 25 percent of Americans are suffering from eye or ocular eye allergy. Most of these patients also manifest symptoms of nasal allergy or hay fever.
In this condition, majority of the time conjunctiva or mucosal membrane of the eye is involved, which is called allergic conjuctivitis.
The term Keratoconjunctivitis is when a condition is more serious and beside conjunctivitis the cornea of the eyes is involved. In that case the person must see a specialist immediately.
Symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis include redness of the conjunctiva, itching of the eyes, feeling of foriegn body and sand in the eyes. Sometimes itching is so intense that ordinary treatment is not effective and requires steriod therapy. In keratoconjunctivitis, the cornea is irritated, looks dull and associated with eye pain.
Ocular allergies are two types: seasonal and perennial. In the seasonal type, these symptoms are more distinct and the person suffers of eye redness, itching and tearing; nasal allergy symptoms and hay fever such as frequent sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion, is usually associated with eye symptoms. These conditions usually are present in the spring and fall due to abundant distribution of pollens in the air. Mold spores are mostly common during rainy season.
In Southern California, trees pollinate from February to the end of May, but grass pollinates almost nine months out of the year, March through the end of November. Weeds pollinate from the middle of July to the end of October.
In perennial conjunctivitis, symptoms are somewhat silent and continuous. These patients usually suffer of dust mite and pet allergy. The itching of the eyes is more prominent but redness and tearing is not so severe.
Allergic conjunctivitis must be differentiated from viral and bacterial conjunctivitis or pink eye, this type of conjunctivitis is contagious, in contrast to allergic conjunctivitis that is not contagious. Also pink eye or viral conjunctivitis can happen in any season, more in the winter time and symptoms include very red eye with mucus or puss-like eye discharge.
Vernal conjunctivitis sometimes mimics symptoms of seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis, but in this case usually adolescents are the victims. This condition is diagnosed by a specialist.
In contact eye allergy, the person could be allergic to the contact lens or chemical that is used for cleaning of the lens.
In summary, the mild cases of allergic conjunctivitis relief can be achieved by cold compress, topical and systematic antihistamines and decongestants. However, in persistent and severe cases, an allergist can diagnose the type of allergies by skin testing and treat the cause, which leads to permanent relief.
If you have any questions regarding this article, you may contact Valencia Allergy Medical Group at 661-259-6996 and speak to the friendly staff or Dr. Farhadian directly.