Pterygium

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Greetings to all and sundry,


It is the start of a brand new week and a time to do great things, i do hope we are all doing well and having a great start for the week. I want to express gratitude to my readers for their time and for staying with me these past few days, it is a pleasure to serve you always.

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Today we would be continuing with our health discussions and for our topic today we would be looking at one of the common tropical conditions affect a majority of people and yet could be so harmless at the same time. It is a conditions that gets the lot worried and i want to use this opportunity to share my knowledge about it.


Pterygium


Pterygium refers to a growth on the eye, specifically the conjunctiva usually close to the limbal area or limbus. This growth is visible to the naked eye can usually be seen when looking inside the mirror. A lot of times patience do self-diagnosis before attending the clinic or hospital. The growth is usually benign and may not increase on a lot of occasions.

Pterygium may present with symptoms such as foreign body sensation, burning sensation, gritty sensation and some mild pains only when it is inflamed. Aside this, it is usually symptomless and may not cause any discomfort to the patient.

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image source

It is however important you take notice of the location, shape and size of your pterygium once diagnosis has been confirmed for you by your optometrist, this would help you know and easily identify when the growth starts to get bigger or move towards your cornea. We do well to ensure that Pterygium doesn't migrate to the cornea since this would affect the cornea integrity and your vision.

It thus become important that we avoid the conditions or factors that support the growth and development of pterygium. These would include sand or a sandy environment, smoke and UV rays or sunlight. It is also important that whenever we experience any discomforts, we see to the Optometrist and not just attribute it to the pterygium just because we have previously been diagnosed.

Pterygium may also be easily mistaken for another condition known as pinguecula which is also a growth on the eye mostly around the same place. Pinguecula however, has a different shape, size and color and may present with slightly varying symptoms as compared to pterygium, this differential diagnosis is best done by your optometrist hence the need to seek professional consultation should you notice similar growth on the eye.


Management


Pterygium is treated or managed by means of surgery or surgical intervention. This is done by your Ophthalmologist, thus your optometrist may refer you for surgery should it be required based on what you present to the hospital or clinic. It is a simply procedure that takes but some few minutes and you can go home and continue with your work or whatever you were about.

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Discomforting symptoms that may come with inflamed pterygium may be treated with topical eye drops as well as any systemic drugs that may be warranted. Your Optometrist would make the best judgement on this after a comprehensive examination of the eye.


Conclusion


As i wrap up on today's discussion i would like to use this opportunity to again remind my readers that my writeups as not a replacement for seeking the needed consult with your Optometrist within your geographical location. I only seek to educate and guide our thoughts and actions concerning our ocular health.

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I am always available to help should you need me and please do feel free to always ask for further clarification in the comment section. Remember that you health is your window to the beauty of this world and that most times damage to our visual system tend to be reversible. Again, early detection saves sight thus you should make regular eye checkups a habit. Thanks once again for reading and for your time and i wish you the best of luck.

All images unless otherwise cited are owned by @nattybongo


Further Reading

Sadig Baheran, S., Alany, R. G., Schwikkard, S., Muen, W., Namaan Salman, L., Freestone, N., & Al-Kinani, A. A. (2022). Pharmacological treatment strategies of pterygium: drugs, biologics, and novel natural products. Drug discovery today, 103416. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2022.103416

Ay, İ. E., Demirezen, M., Şenol, Y., & Til, A. (2022). Ocular health among industrial workers: a prevalence study of foreign body injury, refractive error, dry eye, pterygium and pingueculae. La Medicina del lavoro, 113(5), e2022044. https://doi.org/10.23749/mdl.v113i5.13350

Palewski, M., Budnik, A., & Konopińska, J. (2022). Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Different Pterygium Surgeries: A Review of the Literature. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(18), 11357. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811357

Li, S., Yu, H., Wang, P., & Feng, Y. (2022). Evaluation of the Effects of Pterygium and Aging on Limbal Structure Using Optical Coherence Tomography. Journal of clinical medicine, 11(19), 5879. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11195879



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