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Vernal Conjunctivitis

Epidemiology
1. Occurs annually in spring or early summer
2. Affects adolescents
3. Affects Males more often than females
Pathophysiology
1. Allergic Conjunctiva response to light or heat
Symptoms
1. Bilateral eye involvement
2. Watery Eye Discharge
3. Photophobia
4. Severe eye itching
Signs
1. Recurs in warm weather
2. Conjunctival injection with mucoid secretion
3. Severe Palpebral Conjunctivitis
  1. Hard flattened papillae with furrows
  2. Large "cobblestone" appearance
Complications
1. Corneal Scarring and Conjunctival Scarring
Course
1. Recurrent for 5-10 years
2. Spontaneously disappears after several years
Management
1. Cold Compresses
2. Topical Cromolyn Sodium (Opticrom)
3. Ophthalmology referral for consideration of steroids

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 6/1/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.