Eye Discomfort After COVID-19 Infection

How to deal with eye discomfort after COVID-19 infection

Many people suffer from different degrees of eye discomfort after contracting COVID-19. For example, "my right eye was red three days after infection, and my tearing increased significantly. ", and "my left eye was rubbing and photophobic after I recovered from the fever.", "My vision was a little blurry after two days of positive antigen test"...

What are the symptoms of eye discomfort after infection with COVID-19?

Eye redness, eye pain, and vision loss are some of the more common symptoms of eye discomfort after infection with COVID-19.

ConjunctivitisConjunctivitis is the most common ocular manifestation of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infection causes mucosal congestion and edema in the eye, resulting in local lymphatic circulation disorders and inflammatory reactions due to capillary dilation. Patients mainly present with eye redness, foreign body sensation, tearing, and other discomforts, either in one or both eyes, and can occur in all stages of COVID-19 infection.

It is now thought that the occurrence of conjunctivitis may be related to a direct COVID-19 attack on the conjunctival tissue or the immune system attacking the conjunctival tissue after COVID-19 infects the organism. Hand-eye contact may increase the occurrence of conjunctivitis.

Superficial ScleroiditisSuperficial sclerositis is also seen in patients with COVID-19 infection and presents as localized eye redness, eye pain, tearing, and other discomforts. Previous studies have shown that about 1/3 of patients with superficial sclerositis may be associated with COVID-19 infection. Uveitis and keratitis can also cause ocular redness in COVID-19-infected patients. In addition, infected individuals may also experience eye pain due to trigeminal nerve dysfunction caused by the activation of inflammatory factors by the COVID-19 virus.

Ocular vascular diseaseCentral retinal vein occlusion is one of the many vascular diseases caused by COVID-19 infection, and patients may present with blurred vision and distorted vision. Central retinal artery occlusion can also occur in infected patients. The primary manifestation is a sudden onset of painless vision loss. In addition, acute macular neuroretinopathy can be caused by ischemia of the fundus capillaries in COVID-19-infected patients, which may manifest as painless vision loss or visual obscuration in one or both eyes.

What should I do if I develop eye discomfort after COVID-19 infection?

• The primary disease should be actively treated, such as eye pain in combination with high fever, which requires the use of antipyretic drugs as prescribed by the doctor and can be combined with appropriate cold compresses to relieve the symptoms.
• If there is a sudden loss of vision, go to a professional eye care provider in time to avoid delaying treatment.
• In general, eye discomfort will be reduced and disappear after the infection turns negative, but if eye redness, eye pain, and other discomfort persist, patients should seek medical attention promptly.
• Please wash your hands frequently and avoid rubbing your eyes with them. Hand-eye contact may increase the occurrence of conjunctivitis to prevent eye infections.