What is Photophobia?

Photophobia is a symptom of eye disease. The eyes cannot tolerate the stimulus of light, often accompanied by tears of the eyelid spasm, and most of them have photophobia and tears in varying degrees during conjunctivitis. More common in corneal foreign bodies, keratitis and corneal trauma, irisitis, conjunctivitis can also cause photophobia, dilation can also cause photophobia. If infants have photophobia, be alert for congenital glaucoma. Treatment should find the primary disease causing photophobia and treat the cause.

Basic Information

English name

photophobia

Visiting department

Ophthalmology

Common causes

Corneal foreign bodies, keratitis, corneal trauma, and iritis, conjunctivitis, etc., can also cause pupil dilation

Common symptoms

Eyes cannot tolerate light irritation with eyelid spasms and tears

Causes of photophobia and common diseases

Eye inflammation

The most common cause of the eye's fear of light is the inflammation of the anterior segment of the eye, including: conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal foreign bodies, corneal epithelial damage, corneal ulcers, and iridocyclitis. In addition, if patients with dry eye suffer from lack of sufficient tear fluid to moisturize, they will also have photophobia.

2. Non-inflammatory eye disease

Some non-inflammatory eye diseases can cause eye photophobia, such as albinism, iris defects, and auto-genetic blindness.

3. Systemic disease

Some systemic diseases can also cause eye photophobia, such as migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, meningitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, hyperthyroidism and head trauma, all have photophobia, congenital glaucoma or its own Those with a lighter iris are less able to block light.

Photophobia differential diagnosis

Simple photophobia

Found in congenital absence of iris or iris defect, traumatic or drug-induced dilated pupils, albinism, brain tumors, meningitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, neurasthenia, and tincture, iodine and other poisoning Wait.

2. Simply shed tears

It is found in chronic lacrimal gland inflammation, outside the lower punctum, obstruction of lacrimal tubules, lacrimal inflammation, acute rhinitis, cluster headache, and drug irritation.

3. Photophobia and tears coexist

Found in corneal epithelial defects, inflammation and foreign bodies, conjunctivitis, iridocyclitis, after intraocular surgery, measles, whooping cough, influenza, etc. If photophobia and tears coexist, attention should be paid to inflammation or trauma to the anterior segment of the eye.

Photophobia

If an eye examination reveals that the patient has extremely dilated pupils or iris defects, photophobia must be present. If accompanied by sudden dilated unilateral pupils, most of them are caused by rapid trauma or medicinal reasons. When there is inflammation or trauma to the cornea or iris, there must be photophobia and tearing.

Photophobia treatment principle

Treatment is based on the primary disease that causes photophobia.