Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis

Allergic disorders affect 15% of human beings worldwide. The eyes are involved in most allergic conditions, which varies in severity from mild allergic conjunctivitis to severe and chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea with loss of vision. In this review article, we discuss the allergic keratoconjunctivites with emphasis on pathophysiology and treatment modalities. We searched the Medline database by queries: "allergic conjunctivitis", "atopic conjunctivitis", "vernal conjunctivitis", and "giant papilla". Relevant English language articles from 1965 to 2006 were retrieved and studied. Regarding the chronic nature of the condition and the adverse effects of long term usage of certain medications, it is very important to explain the nature of the condition to the patients. Conservative management and administration of safe drugs such as mast cell stabilizer are the first option. Surgical interventions in these eyes like penetrating keratoplasty should be perform during remission of the inflammation.