Recurrent corneal erosion (RCE) is a type of eye disorder. It is characterized by the collapse of the cornea’s epithelial cells to attach properly to the basement membrane. This basement membrane is also known as Bowman’s layer. Recurrent corneal erosion is an extremely painful condition as it exposes the sensitive corneal area. This happens due to the loss of epithelial cells.
RCE syndrome may occur spontaneously or secondary to corneal injury. It occurs spontaneously when some predisposing factor is the underlying cause, for example, corneal dystrophy or diabetes. RCE is managed by regenerating the epithelial basement membrane. This regeneration restores the attachment between the anterior stroma and the epithelium.
Surprisingly, corneal erosions are one of the most common and neglected eye disorders. Ocular trauma also induces corneal erosions in some cases, but in most cases it occurs spontaneously. Imbalance in the epithelial basement membrane causes a painful RCE syndrome.
Manifestation of Recurrent Corneal Erosion
Epithelial basement membrane dystrophy and RCE are bilateral in nature. They present various patterns like patterns that resemble maps, parallel lines depicting fingerprints and dots. Individual microcysts are usually associated with fingerprint and map patterns. They may be oblong, oval or comma-shaped.
Pathophysiology of Recurrent Corneal Erosion
There are two categories of corneal abrasions: deep (penetrates the Bowman layer but does not rupture the Descemet membrane) and superficial (Bowman layer is not involved). RCE occurs because there is an imbalance in the hemidesmosomes formation and epithelial basement membrane. This finally leads to bullae, epithelial loss and microcysts.
Frequency of Recurrent Corneal Erosion
Lack of proper nutrition plays a key role in the health of the cornea. This is why RCE are quite frequent in developing countries. RCE are more frequent in patients who have associated skin problem. Even patients with some predisposing factor are susceptible to RCE.
Symptoms Of Recurrent Corneal Erosion:
Various symptoms of recurrent corneal erosion includes:
- Blurred vision
- Severe pain in eyes while you are awake
- Dryness and irritation
- Sensation of the presence of foreign body
- Redness in eye
- Tearing
- Eyes become sensitive to light
Causes For Recurrent Corneal Erosion:
Some major causes for recurrent corneal erosion to occur are:
- Superficial trauma to cornea
- Corneal dystrophies
- Some infection caused due to some surgery of cataract etc.
- Systemic disease like diabetes etc can also result in this condition.
- Malnutrition can also be one of the reason
- Intake of a high dose of drug can also result in this condition
Preventive Measures:
There are few preventive measures which must be taken to avoid this condition to occur:
- Avoid the environments which are dry and irritating like cigarette smoke etc.
- Drink plenty of fluids this will avoid dry eyes
- Avoid sleeping late in night
- Keep lubricating your eyes regularly to prevent recurrence.
