Cloudy cornea

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Eye

Cloudy cornea

Overview

Treatment

Cloudy cornea

Definition:

A cloudy cornea is a loss of transparency of the cornea.

Alternative Names:

Corneal opacification; Corneal edema

Considerations:

The cornea is normally a nearly invisible, transparent structure covering the iris of the eye. Its two purposes are to transmit and focus the light entering the eye. Certain metabolic diseases, trauma, infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies, and environmental situations may cause clouding of the cornea. Clouding results in varying degrees of visual loss.

Common Causes:

Vitamin A deficiency (a leading cause of blindness in underdeveloped countries)
Sjogren's syndrome
Herpetic keratoconjunctivitis (a form of conjunctivitis caused by herpes simplex)
Alkali and other chemical burns to the cornea
Trachoma (an infection common in parts of Asia and North Africa)
River blindness (onchocerciasis - an infection common in parts of Africa)
A number of rare inherited diseases involving abnormal metabolism

Review Date: 11/14/2005
Reviewed By: Edward B. Feinberg, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2004 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.