Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a handful of variants of this deadly virus.

To date, the most notable is delta, which was first detected in India in the latter half of 2020. The World Health Organization identified the delta variant as the dominant strain in June 2021.

Said to be much more contagious in comparison to the original strain of COVID-19, this variant caused grave concerns for people all over the world when it came to protecting themselves from it.

While it comes as no surprise that COVID-19 can have devastating effects on seemingly every part of the body, optometrists are interested in its direct impact on the eye. It is important to note that the research regarding these details continues to be a work in progress. However, certain information has come to light in the less than 2 years since the pandemic first began.

Ocular symptoms

Prior COVID-19 strains have been shown to cause ocular symptoms; however, there is not yet enough information to link such symptoms to the delta variant. A number of individuals infected with the delta variant have experienced symptoms such as ocular redness and conjunctivitis, but this has not occurred frequently enough to establish a link.

The original strain of COVID-19 produced the following symptoms:

• conjunctivitis;
• discomfort;
• itch;
• redness;
• blurry vision; and
• light sensitivity.

Therefore, it is possible that those infected with the delta variant may suffer from these symptoms as well.

Long-term impact

Toward the beginning of the pandemic, it was not known that COVID-19 could cause lingering effects. However, it has been determined that this is not the case, and patients with “long haul COVID-19” can struggle with a myriad of eye health issues.

In July 2021, the British Journal of Ophthalmology published an article (Biturgen et al.) linking COVID to corneal nerve fiber loss as detected with corneal confocal microscopy.

While the authors noted that continued testing must be done to develop their findings, these initial results are important to eye care professionals with patients who have had any variation of COVID-19.

We are continuing to learn about the long-term impact of this virus and its variants on adults and children. While it may feel as though the world has been in the midst of this pandemic for a long time, the reality is that the first cases of COVID were reported only 2 years ago.

A growing concern among children

Children are also at risk of serious complications from this virus. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has been identified as one of them. MIS-C has many traits similar to Kawasaki disease.

Although the symptoms associated with MIS-C can vary, ocular redness is one of them. Some patients may mistakenly believe their symptoms are caused by dry eye; however,

if this symptom is paired with stomach issues, headache or chest pain, the child should be tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible.

Continued research

It goes without saying that new COVID variants will continue to be discovered over time. Medical professionals are closely watching the omicron variant to see how this new strain will impact us.

Eye care professionals should stay up-to-date on the research so the health care community can find new and better ways to treat patients.

Reference:

• Biturgen G, et al. Br J Ophthalmol. 2021;doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2021-319450.