Herpes

Ocular herpes is not caused by the same virus that causes genital herpes, nor is it a Sexually Transmitted Disease. There are two types of herpetic eye disease both presenting with different symptoms. One thing they have in common is that they can both be very painful because they affect the nerves directly.

Because herpes is a virus, antibiotics such as penicillin are not an effective treatment. The only drugs that will work against herpes infections are prescription antiviral medications.

Depending on how serious the herpes zoster ophthalmicus is and what part of the eye is affected, Dr. Fox may prescribe antiviral eye drops, pills, or both.

Various signs and symptoms are associated with an ocular herpes outbreak. You may experience inflammation of the cornea, which can cause an irritation or sudden and severe ocular pain. Also, the cornea can become cloudy, leading to blurry vision. Other characteristics of eye herpes include: swelling around the eyes, tearing, recurrent eye infections, irritation, foreign body sensation, redness, sores, and watery discharge.

Treatment for eye herpes depends on where the infection is located in the eye – in the corneal epithelium, corneal stroma, conjunctiva, etc. Some ocular herpes treatments could aggravate the outbreak and therefore will be considered on a case-by-case basis.