The outermost dome-shaped layer, commonly known as the cornea, covers the front of your eyes and plays an essential role in focusing your vision. Your cornea gains nourishment from the aqueous humor and tears. You can care for your cornea through self-care practices, lifestyle changes, and professional intervention. Suburban Eye Associates ensures that every Huntingdon Valley Cornea is in perfect condition through advanced equipment and treatment options.

Five Essential Parts of Your Cornea

The five distinct parts of your cornea are:

  1.     The endothelium is the innermost layer that keeps your cornea and vision clear. The endothelium pumps out excess fluid through fluid leakages to your stroma from the inside of your eye to avoid over swelling that could make your eyes opaque and thick. A healthy eye uses homeostasis for the healthy movement of fluids in and out of the cornea.
  2.     Descemet’s membrane is a tissue layer behind your stroma, protecting your cornea against injuries and infection that may affect your vision. It contains unique collagen fibers and tissues that can heal after an injury.
  3.     Stroma. The stroma lying behind the Bowman’s layer is the thickest layer. It contains collagen that gives it elasticity and strength to ensure that your cornea has light-conducting transparency.
  4.     The Bowman’s layer lies behind the epithelium’s basement coating, ensuring that your vision is intact. It’s rich in delicate collagen fibers. In case the Bowman’s layer develops large scars following an injury, you may suffer vision loss.
  5.     The epithelium is the outermost layer blocking alien materials like bacteria and dust particles from entering your eye. It also allows the free movement and absorption of nutrients and oxygen to the rest of your cornea and eye.

Symptoms of Corneal Illnesses

After suffering an injury or exposure to diseases and injuries, your cornea can make a hasty recovery. Unfortunately, you may need to seek immediate medical assistance in case of:

  •       Blurred vision
  •       Sensitivity to light
  •       Pain in the eye
  •       Scarring to the cornea
  •       Excessive redness and tearing

Conditions Affecting the Cornea

  •   Dry eye
  • Allergies
  • Keratitis
  •  Corneal diseases like keratoconus, Fuchs’ dystrophy, lattice dystrophy, or the map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy.
  • Shingles
  • §  Ocular herpes/ herpes of the eye
  • Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome (ICE)
  • Pterygium
  • Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS)

Treatment for Corneal Conditions

Your provider considers specific symptoms to choose an ideal treatment from options like:

  • Laser surgery. Phototherapeutic keratectomy restores your cornea using UV light and laser technology without the need for corneal grafting.
  • Corneal transplant surgery removes damaged parts of your cornea. Suburban Eye Associates uses lamellar keratoplasty to replace damaged tissue or Descemet’s Stripping with Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK) to replace damaged cell layers.
  • Corneal cross-linking makes your cornea more resilient to injuries and disease-causing germs. It slows down the progression of keratoconus and the need for a corneal transplant.
  • Intacs surgery. Intacs reinforce your cornea and eradicate most irregularities resulting from conditions like keratoconus.
  • Artificial corneas like keratoprosthesis (KPro) rectify your cornea’s specific blemishes that may affect your vision and eye health.

Bottom Line

Suburban Eye Associates treats a wide range of eye conditions to help you maintain healthy vision. You can visit the website or call Suburban Eye Associates to book an appointment at Huntington Valley, Jenkintown, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.