Study finds link between Covid and dry, red, itchy eyes

The study, based on a review of 233 research papers from 2020 to 2024, also revealed that some patients may present with ocular symptoms as the first indication of Covid-19 infection

New Delhi: A team of Indian-origin researchers has found an increasing link between Covid infection and people presenting eye problems like dryness, redness and itchy eyes.

While Covid has primarily been a respiratory infection, the ocular system has shown susceptibility to the SARS-CoV-2 virus with numerous symptoms reported across the globe, said the team from Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Nova Southeastern University,

Their study, published in the Cureus: Journal of Medical Science, identified conjunctivitis as the most common ocular symptom, with approximately one in every ten patients presenting the symptoms associated with Covid.

The team also reported more serious complications such as episcleritis -- a benign, inflammatory disease that affects the clear tissue that covers the white part of your eyes, and is unrelated to Covid infection; Ophthalmoparesis -- a weakness or paralysis of any of the extraocular muscles that garner movement of the eye; Central Retinal Artery Occlusion (CRAO) -- a serious disease of the eye in which the main artery supplying the retina is blocked due to an atherosclerotic plaque.

Some Covid patients also reported suffering cranial nerve palsies, where an individual takes longer than usual to move eyes. It can also lead to vision loss.