- Risk factors for HSV-1 reactivation include stress, heat, fever, exposure to sunlight, hormonal changes and certain medicines.
- Eye herpes typically causes blisters on the eyelids that crust over and heal within a week. Other symptoms include eye redness, gritty sensations, pain, sensitivity to light, tearing and blurred vision.
- If eye herpes spreads to the middle layers of the cornea, this can cause permanent scarring, impaired vision and blindness.
- People most at risk for an eye herpes infection are those who have experienced one previously. The first episode usually occurs during childhood, and about one-third of patients develop another infection later, as explained by the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS).
- Eye herpes is most likely to occur in people who have a compromised immune system, according to a review of studies published in "British Medical Journal (BMJ) Clinical Evidence" in 2008. A study published in the July 2009 issue of "Eye & Contact Lens: Science & Clinical Practice" found that contact lens wearers had a higher recurrence rate of eye herpes compared to non-lens wearers.
