Video Transcription:
Photophobia is a symptom that some patients present and means having intolerance of light. It can be more or less intense and is a symptom that can be linked to a pathology of the surface of the eye (therefore a simple irritation due to a corpuscle that has entered the eye or a small foreign body in the conjunctiva) or it can be linked to something that is a little more serious, which can be an abrasion of the cornea or linked to conjunctivitis. Therefore, it is something that then leads the patient to the ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist naturally does the diagnosis and decides which is the best treatment.
Photophobia, however, can also be due to deeper pathologies, therefore not only superficial pathologies but diseases affecting the inside of the eye.
The most common pathology of the inside of the eye, which causes photophobia, is irritation of the ciliary body (the ciliary reaction), which occurs whenever there is inflammation inside the eye which creates an irritation of the iris or the uveal tract of the eye. It is the vascular tissue that irrigates the eye and gives reactive ciliary-like symptoms like the patient having photophobia because of an irritation of the ciliary body.
The most common clinical pictures are uveitis and iritis, or autoimmune inflammations. Every time the uvea is offended, there is a strong photophobia, which is the main symptom. The patient presents to the eye doctor with red eye, a deep pain and an important irritation to light, therefore he cannot keep his eye open.
This type of pathology must be recognized and a differential diagnosis must be made with diseases of the surface of the eye. Of course, the diagnosis is made by the ophthalmologist and the patient is hospitalized or otherwise treated in an important way to reduce his symptoms and attack the underlying pathology.
