Endosperm (leukoma) is an ophthalmic concept and means one of the eye diseases manifested by whitish clouding of the cornea of the eyeball. The change results in visual impairment or even blindness. It may occur in the case of certain birth defects, mechanical injuries or as a result of an infection. In Polish, there is even a phrase “to have an endosperm before your eyes”, which means being blinded and not being able to see the actual state of affairs or situations that are obvious to other people. You can also “take the endosperm from someone’s eyes”, that is, reveal the truth to someone. This article aims to describe the symptom of the endosperm, its causes, and the methods of treating this eye disease.
Endosperm – symptoms
A symptom of endosperm, or in fact scarring on the cornea, is the loss of clarity of vision that is related to the overlapping of the lesion on the iris of the eye. At the same time, there is a significant deterioration in eyesight. During its formation bielma may be accompanied by such symptoms mainly pain (sometimes sharp) and redness of the eyeball, relatively frequent tearing, the appearance of serous, mucous or purulent discharge. Where these symptoms see a doctor immediately. At worst leukoma it may lead to permanent blindness.
Endosperm – causes
Causesthat lead to the uprising bielma, there can be a lot. Among them are risk factors such as viral and bacterial infections, congenital changes and genetic diseases (e.g. Peters anomaly), metabolic diseases (rare MPS, mucopolysaccharidosis), degeneration and mechanical injuries of the cornea. Moreover bielmo is sometimes caused by iatrogenic errors, i.e. improper and unjustified intake of medicines by the patient at home, including the use of anesthetic drops based on proxymetacaine. It is absolutely contraindicated due to the possibility of the appearance of difficult to heal neutrophic ulcers.
Endosperm – how to treat?
In some cases, the risk of formation can be avoided bielma. A large number of eye injuries occur during the performance of certain professions (e.g. welder) and working in conditions posing a threat to the organ of vision, therefore it is extremely important to comply with the set of occupational health and safety (OHS) rules, for example wearing protective glasses.
Proper diagnosis is key the causes of the endosperm on the eye. The physician should conduct an interview and examine the eyeball with the help of an appropriate medical instrument, such as a slit lamp, which can detect certain eye diseases. Visual acuity should also be checked along with intraocular pressure (tonometry). In order to investigate bielma modern is also used ophthalmological diagnosticsfor example optical fundus coherent tomography (OCT), pachymetry to determine corneal thickness, confocal microscopy and corneal topography. Unfortunately, not all of them causes of leukoma are possible to eliminate, especially if bielmo is a consequence of the presence of congenital defects or various chronic diseases. Treatment and prevention should be adjusted to the cause that provoked the appearance bielma.
It is important to hold back development leukomy, because thanks to this it is possible to minimize the already existing change or completely remove it with the use of appropriate measures. The most common is pharmacological treatmentbut when corneal destruction occurs, the patient is surgically removed bielma or ultimately on a corneal transplant. Such procedures are: LASIK (Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis), i.e. refractive laser eye surgery, photorefractive keratectomy (PRK, photorefractive keratectomy), which involves the removal of a sufficiently thick layer of the corneal epithelium and a hollow keratoplasty, also known as corneal transplantation.
It is possible to recover completely bielma acutely. Conversely, if bielmo has already been fixed or is the result of degeneration, often the performance of appropriate treatments will result in the improvement of eyesight and the possibility of returning to normal activity. After finish treatment Periodic check-ups with an ophthalmologist may be recommended. You have to take great care of your eye and try to prevent rubbing and injuries, and to treat inflammation (if any) and dry eye syndrome. It is very important to rinse the eye with physiological saline if a foreign body, dust or dust has entered the eye. Good hygiene is also important – remember to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly and not to touch or rub your eyes with dirty hands. This is one of the easiest ways to develop viral or bacterial infectious eye inflammations.