Eye disorders Flashcards
Allergic conjunctivitis background
- occular allergy, inflammation of the conjunctiva
- 20% of people suffer from it
- NOT contagious
- characterizations: redness of conjunctiva, increased tearing, itchiness, burning, blurred vision
Allergic conjunctivitis differential diagnosis
- Etiology: allergy to pollen, dander, etc
- Signs/sx: itching, sandy/gritty feeling, redness, tearing
- Involvement: bilateral
- Contagious: NO
- Tx: lubricants, decongestants, antihistamines
Bacterial Conjunctivitis dx
- Etiology: bacterial infection
- Sx: itching, redness, thick yello/white discharge
- Involvement: Unilateral initially, may spread
- Contagious: YES
Tx: Abx, eye drops
Viral Conjunctivitis dx
- Etiology: Viral infection
- Sx: burning or sandy/gritty feeling, redness, watery or mucous discharge, possible viral prodrome
- Involvement: Unilateral with spread to bi
- Contagious: YES
- Tx: self-limiting, lubricants/steroids
Allergic conjunctivitis tx: Decongestant
- phenylephrine, naphazoline, oxymetazoline, tetrahydrolozine
- Dose: 1-2 drops TID-QID
- Cannot use for more than 3 days (rebound congestion)
- DO NOT USE in pts with narrow anterior chamber or glaucoma
Allergic conjunctivitis tx: Antihistamines
- Pheniramine maleate
- Dose: 1-2 drops TID-QID
- can cause stinging, burning, discomfort
Allergic conjunctivitis tx: Ketotifen
- 0.25%
- MOA: mast cell stabilizer and H1 antagonist
- 1 drop Q8-12h
- can cause burning and stinging and dilation
- NO rebound congestion
Allergic conjunctivitis tx: Brimonidine
- new drug; low % selectively restricts vein in eye and increases O2 to tissues to reduce inflammation/redness
- Dose: 1 drop Q6-8h
- b/c selective, no tolerance, redness, or loss of effectiveness
Allergic conjunctivitis counseling pts
- advise of side effects
- pts w/contacts should not wear until condition is resolved
- screen for contraindications
Xerophthalmia (dry eyes) Etiology
tear evaporation, environmental conditions (dust/smoke), advanced age, female (hormones), medical conditions, medications, LASIK or other surgery, contact lenses, eye injury/surgery
- too many tears can be sign of dry eyes b/c eye overproduces to compensate
Dry eye manifestations
- dry, gritty, irritated, scratchy, or filmy feeling (MAIN - KNOW)
- burning/itching
- redness
- blurred vision
- excess tears
- light sensitivity
- strained eyes
- contact lens discomfort
Medical conditions associated with dry eye
rheumatoid arthritis sarcoidosis Sjogren syndrom Lupus DM Thyroid disorders Vit A deficiency Inflammation
Medications that can cause dry eyes
antihistamines decongestants (anticholinergic) anti-HTN drugs (diuretics and B-blockers) Acne tx Birth control Drugs for Parkinson's
Dry eye diagnosis: blink rate and tear break-up test
- special dye put into eye, stains cornea
- measure time it takes for tears to evaporate
- reflection of how much lipid are in tears
- more lipids = more time to break up tears
- short tear break-up = evaporates faster = dry eyes
Dry eye diagnosis: ocular surface dye staining
know name
Dry eye diagnosis: aqueous tear production (Schirmer test)
- determines if eye produces enough tears to keep it moist.
- used when pt experiences very dry eyes or excessive eye watering
- negative (more than 10 mm of moisture in 5 min) = NORMAL
Dry eye diagnosis: lacrimal gland function test
know name
Dry eye diagnosis: osmolarity test
know name
Dry eye potential compications
- corneal ulceration
- functional vision loss
- infections
- neovascularization
- scarring
Dry eye exclusions for self-care
- eye pain (extreme or doesn’t go away = refer)
- blurry vision
- light sensitivity
- hx of contact lens wear
- blunt trauma to eye
- chemical exposure to eye
- conjunctivitis or eyelid infections
- eye exposure to heat (not sun exposure)
- sx for more than 3 days
- other conditions: conjunctivitis, infections, foreign particles in eye, ocular abrasions
Blunt trauma to eye sx
- ruptured blood vessels
- bleeding into tissue
- swelling
- ocular discomfort
- facial drooping
complications: - internal eye bleeding
- secondary glaucoma
- detached retina
- periorbital bone fractur
Chemical exposure to eye sx
- reddened eyes, watering, difficulty opening
- complications: scarring and loss of vision
- to prevent scarring: flush for 10 min with sterile water or saline -> go to ED
Dry eye: NON-pharmacological tx
- tx underlying cause if you can identify it
- avoid meds with anticholinergic or diuretic properties
- frequent breaks from reading/screens
- avoid low humidity and winds (add humidifier indoors)
- plugs: Lacrisert
- Hot compress
- Eyelid scrub/massage
- blinking
- avoid smoke
Dry eye: Artificial tears
- protects surface cells of the eye
- Ocular lubricants:
- colorless and vary in viscosity
- hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (0.3%, 0.8%), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) (0.5 or 1%), PVA 1.4%
- combining drugs increases viscosity = enhanced drug action
- no irritation or toxicity to tissue
Refresh dry eye therapy - glycerin, polysorbate, CMC, boric acid, castor oil, erythritol,
- oil in water emulsion supplements lipids in tears
- lubricates for longer period
- gel is better
- unit dose is better
Dry eye: gel drops
- extended tx
- expands tears
- clinically proven to provide relief
Systane: - gelling and polymer system
- forms gel-like environment that stays in contact with ocular surface longer
- creates ocular shield, allowing epithelial repair
Refresh Optive: - combo CMC and glycerin
- osmotic protective effect
- formula without preservatives less likely to irritate
Dry eyes: Advanced/triple action solutions
- triple action
- works on all three layers of tear film
- helps hydrate, lubricate, and prevent tears from evaporating
Refresh optive advanced and preservative free: - gel and polymer system
- forms gel-like environment that stays in contact with eye longer
- creates ocular shield
Dry eyes: Retain MGD
- 30 single dose vials
- 4th generation
- moisturizes, lubricates, and protects
- blend of heavy and light mineral oils plus emollients
- MOA: electrostatic attraction to stabilize tear film and retain lipids; hypotonicity lubricates and protects
- target pts: Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) - tear evaporates too quickly
- instill 1-2 drops in eye prn
Dry eye: Refresh Optive Mega-3 preservative free
- newest class
- omega-3 oil
- flaxseed and castor oil to protect tears from evaporating
- should resemble body’s own oils
Dry eye: Non-medicated ointment
- advantage is enhanced retention time in the eye = enhances integrity of tear film
- BID, or prn depending on pt
- SE: blurred vision
- preservative free (best option)
Benzalkonium Chloride
BAC
preservative
newer products don’t use
Dry eye: mild to moderate tx
Mild: education, environmental modification eliminate offending agent artificial tear substitutes, gels/ointments warm compress Moderate: same as for mild, plus: - anti-inflammatory agent - punctal plugs - spectacle side shields and moisture chambers
Administering eye drops
- wash hands
- don’t touch dropper to eyes
- tilt head back
- grasp lower eyelid and pull away from eye
- look up
- close eyes for 3 min, minimize blinking
- blot excess from eye
Administering eye ointment
- wash hands
- if after a drop, wait 10 min
- place 1/4-1/2 inch strip of ointment inside lower eyelid
- close eyes for 1-2 min
Minor ocular irritation
- responds well to artificial tear solutions or non-med ointments
- zinc sulfate, mild astringent, may be recommended
- dose: 1-2 drops up to QID
- homeopathic Similasan eye drops no efficacy
Corneal edema
- hyperosmotic agents 1st line
- MOA: increase tonicity
- OTC as sodium chloride
- instill 2% solution up to QID
- add 5%hs if sx persist, refer if sx still persist
Stye
- avoid rubbing eyes
- apply warm compress for 10 min, 3x/day until it drains
- prevention: wash hands
- referral: if persists for more than 2 days of home tx, interferes with vision, many styes at once
Drug-induced eye disorders
Abx Anticholinergics (warn pts with glaucoma) Biphosphonates Cancer drugs Erectile dysfunction drugs Glucocorticoids Digoxin Tamsulosin See chart for more detail (slide 28)
eye vitamins
Vitamin C, E, Beta-carotene and zinc (age-related macular degeneration)
Lutein and zeaxantin