The herpes simplex virus, also known as HSV, is one which can affect various areas of the human body on a recurrent basis. When it affects the eye the symptoms are unpleasant, but can always be treated.

It is true that herpes, once contracted, cannot be cured. It is there for life, but it will come and go (one example of this is a cold sore; also caused by HSV but the symptoms are not always present). It cannot be cured because unlike bacteria which float around in the body, viruses take over human body cells and use them as 'hosts'. To destroy these cells means destroying every cell in the body and that simply can't be done.

As a result, treating eye herpes means treating the symptoms and encouraging them to go away as quickly as possible until the next outbreak. This also means treating the symptoms as soon as possible after they occur and as a result you need to be able to recognize the early warning signs. The primary symptom of eye herpes is keratitis (also known as inflammation of the cornea), which causes problems with sight (blurred vision) and severe, aching pain. Other symptoms of eye herpes include photophobia (strong disliking of bright light) and excess watering of the eye as well.

Eye herpes needs rapid treatment upon the onset of symptoms because if the deeper layers of cornea become inflamed they can cause scarring and ultimately damaged vision. If it does get to this point then treatment will involve steroid eye drops as opposed to the normal eye herpes eye drops and ointment that are usually prescribed. This is undesirable as when used for prolonged periods of time, or when used incorrectly steroid eye drops can cause cataracts or other problems with sight. A doctor may also prescribe antiviral tablets that shorten the length of symptoms. In addition to this you should never scratch your eyes or touch them while you have eye herpes. If you do need to then make sure your hands are clean and always, always wash them afterwards too. The path to infection is a simple one: you touch your eye, then touch someone's hand, then they rub their eye and they have eye herpes too.

Sometimes only the eyelids become infected and this is itself has very little possible treatment. This kind of infection also poses no threat to the long term health of the eye unless it spreads to the cornea, so the best thing to do is keep the area clean and simply wait 7 to 21 days for it to clear up on its own. If it doesn't then you have cause to visit your doctor.

The rule of thumb for someone suffering from eye herpes should be to remember the early warning symptoms of an outbreak and get treatment as quickly as possible, so that the symptoms do not last for as long. The quicker the symptoms disappear, the quicker a person ceases to be infectious, so it's not only good to yourself to get rapid treatment but also responsible too.

Stan Tian

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