What is ocular herpes and what are the signs and symptons?!


Question:

What is ocular herpes and what are the signs and symptons?

Is it contagious?


Answers:

Symptoms of herpetic eye disease (ocular herpes) may include blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and pain and redness of the eye

Herpes simplex virus is a common virus affecting humans. It is perhaps best known as the cause of cold sores, the facial blisters that sometimes occur following a cold or fever. The name herpes comes from the Greek word meaning "to creep", as cold sores sometimes appear to creep or spread over the face. There are two types of herpes simplex viruses. Type I primarily involves the face and eyes, and type 2 primarily causes genital infections. Each year in the United States approximately 25 million people have flare-ups of facial herpes, five million develop genital herpes. There are about 500,000 people in the U.S with a history of herpetic eye disease.
When the eye is afflicted by herpes simplex, it usually affects only one eye and most often occurs on the cornea (the normally clear dome that covers the front part of the eye). This type of corneal infection is called Herpes Keratitis. The infection may be superficial, involving the top layer (epithelium) of the cornea, and usually heals without scarring, or it may involve the deeper layers of the cornea. If the infection involves the deeper layers, it may lead to scars of the cornea, loss of vision, and sometimes even blindness. Less commonly, herpes simplex virus may also infect the inside of the eye (Herpes Uveitis) or the retina (Herpes Retinitis).




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