Eye herpes, otherwise known as ocular herpes, is caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1. It is also sometimes referred to as cold sores in the eye. Eye herpes is very common and recurrent viral infection. This can cause the cornea of the eyes to become inflamed and might cause the cornea to scar. Eye herpes can be caught from being in close contact with someone who is infected with an active virus. It is estimated that 400,000 Americans has had an experience with the several various forms of eye herpes. Annually, there are close to 50,000 recurring and new cases of people with eye herpes. The different forms of eye herpes can cause anything from an infection to blindness. There are 3 main forms. The first type is herpes keratitis. This is the most prevalent form of eye herpes. It is a viral infection of the cornea of the eye and mostly affects top-most layer of the cornea (also called the epithelium). Fortunately, this form of eye herpes can heal without leaving a scar. The second form is called stromal keratitis. This occurs when the corneal infection goes deeper into the layers. Unlike herpes keratits, stromal keratits will lead to scarring and loss of vision. Unfortunately, this may also lead to blindness. This form of eye herpes can be due to a delayed reaction to the infection. Stromal keratitis is said to be the leading cause for corneal blindness in the US even though the condition is considered rare. The third and most serious form is Iridocyclitis. This is when the iris and the surrounding tissues of the eye become inflamed. This inflammation can cause an extreme sensitivity to light, pain and redness of the eye, and blurred vision. Iridocyclitis usually affects the frontal parts of the eye. The infection is called herpes retinitis when the infection affects the retina instead of the iris.

There are several signs and symptoms which are associated with eye herpes. An infected person will experience some corneal inflammation, which can lead to irritation or even severe pain in the eyes. The cornea can also become cloudy which will lead to blurred vision. Other eye herpes symptoms include swelling of the area around the eyes, recurrent eye infections, eye irritation, redness of the eyes, teary or watery discharges in the eye and light sensitivity. Because there are so many eye herpes symptoms, your doctor might overlook eye herpes as a diagnosis during the early stages of the infection.

Before starting on an eye herpes treatment, you have to determine what form of eye herpes you might have and where the infection is located. If wrongly treated, your eye herpes might be aggravated and worsen your infection. If your eye herpes is superficial, or only affecting the top layer of your cornea, then the use of antiviral pills, ointments or eye drops can alleviate the infection. In some cases, your doctor might call for a procedure called debridement. This procedure is done by using cotton swabs or corneal spatula to scrape away the infected cells of the cornea. After the procedure, the doctor will require the patient to wear soft contact lenses or an eye patch to help heal the cornea. If the infection has gone deeper into the corneal layers, then steroid drops are used to decrease the inflammation and to prevent further scarring of the cornea. These steroid drops are usually used together with other antiviral eye drops. Unfortunately, these steroid srops can cause recurrent eye herpes in some patients. Therefore, other antibiotic eye drops are used with therapeutic contact lenses to prevent secondary infections. If the scarring of the cornea if severe and treatments have not helped clear the center of the cornea, then surgery is required. A corneal transplant is done to help restore the patient’s vision when the scarring in the cornea is permanent. Unfortunately, eye herpes has no known cure. These eye herpes treatments are only to help control outbreaks of the infection.