Cornea
Cornea Specialist in Illinois & Iowa
Your Cornea: The Clear Shield That Helps You See
Think of your cornea as the clear windshield of your eye. Just like a car’s windshield protects you from wind and debris while letting you see the road clearly, your cornea protects your eye while helping focus light so you can see clearly.
When your cornea gets damaged, diseased, or cloudy, your vision suffers—sometimes dramatically.
Your cornea has three important layers working together:
1. Epithelium (Outer Layer)
- Your eyes’ first line of defense against dirt, germs, and particles
- Gets nutrients from your tears to stay healthy
- Heals quickly when scratched or injured
2. Stroma (Middle Layer)
- The thickest layer is made of water and proteins
- Gives your cornea its shape and strength
- Must stay clear for good vision
3. Endothelium (Inner Layer)
- Acts like a pump to keep your cornea from getting waterlogged
- Only one cell thick, but critically important
- When damaged, your cornea becomes cloudy
When any of these layers gets damaged or diseased, your vision can be seriously affected.
Warning Signs Your Cornea Needs Help
Call us immediately if you experience:
- Severe eye pain
- Sudden blurred vision
- Excessive tearing
- Extreme sensitivity to light
- Red, inflamed eyes
- Feeling like something is stuck in your eye
- Corneal scarring or cloudiness
Don’t ignore these symptoms—they may indicate a serious problem requiring immediate treatment.
Common Corneal Conditions We Treat
Keratitis: When Your Cornea Gets Infected
What it is: Infection and inflammation of your cornea, usually from bacteria or fungi
How it happens:
- Contact lens problems (poor hygiene, overwearing)
- Deep eye injuries
- Contaminated eye products
Symptoms:
- Severe pain
- Blurred vision
- Discharge from your eye
- Red, inflamed eye
Treatment: Antibiotic or antifungal eye drops (very effective when caught early)
Prevention tip: Always follow proper contact lens care and never sleep in daily disposables!
Ocular Herpes: A Viral Eye Infection
What it is: The same virus that causes cold sores can infect your eye
Important facts:
- Can recur throughout your life
- Creates sores on your cornea’s surface
- It can spread deeper into your eye over time
- No cure, but very treatable with antiviral medications
Key point: Early treatment prevents serious complications and vision loss.
Shingles (Herpes Zoster): When Chickenpox Returns
What it is: The chickenpox virus reactivating in your eye area
Who’s at risk:
- Anyone who’s had chickenpox (the virus stays dormant in your nerves)
- People over 50 (especially over 80)
- Those with weakened immune systems
Symptoms:
- Painful blisters around your eye
- Fever
- Corneal lesions
- Severe nerve pain
Good news: There’s a vaccine for people over 50 that greatly reduces your risk!
Corneal Dystrophies: Inherited Conditions
Keratoconus: When Your Cornea Changes Shape
What happens: Your normally round cornea becomes cone-shaped, like a football instead of a basketball
Who gets it:
- Often starts in teenage years
- Can be inherited from parents
- Eye trauma, including chronic eye rubbing
- Associated with certain eye diseases and medical conditions
Symptoms:
- Gradually worsening vision
- Increasing astigmatism and nearsightedness
- Difficulty with night vision
- May need frequent prescription changes
Treatment options:
- Early stage: Glasses or soft contacts
- Progressive stage: Rigid gas-permeable contacts
- Advanced stage: iLinkâ„¢ corneal cross-linking or corneal transplant
Revolutionary iLinkâ„¢ Treatment
Great news for keratoconus patients: We offer iLink™ corneal cross-linking—the only FDA-approved treatment to slow or stop keratoconus progression!
How it works:
- Minimally invasive office procedure (about 2 hours)
- Special eye drops combined with UV light
- Strengthens your cornea to prevent further shape changes
- Widely covered by insurance
Benefits:
- Stops disease progression
- May prevent the need for a corneal transplant
- Proven safe and effective in clinical studies
- Done right in our office
Summary of Information About Corneal Cross-Linking
Who benefits: Patients with progressive keratoconus, especially younger patients
Cross-Linking for Progressive Keratoconus
What is corneal cross-linking?
- iLink™ is the only FDA-approved corneal cross-linking procedure for the treatment of progressive keratoconus. This minimally invasive outpatient procedure uses specially formulated prescription eye drops called Photrexa® and Photrexa® Viscous, combined with UV light from the KXL System, to slow or halt the progression of disease.
- The safety and effectiveness of corneal cross-linking have not been established in pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding, patients who are younger than 14 years of age, and patients 65 years of age or older.
What warnings should I know about iLinkâ„¢ corneal cross-linking?
- Ulcerative keratitis, a potentially serious eye infection, can occur
- Your doctor should monitor your resolution of epithelial defects if they occur
What are the side effects of iLinkâ„¢ corneal cross-linking?
- The most common ocular adverse reactions in any corneal cross-linked eye were haze (corneal opacity), inflammation (punctate keratitis), fine white lines (corneal striae), disruption of surface cells (corneal epithelium defect), eye pain, reduced sharpness of vision (visual acuity), and blurred vision.
The risk information provided here is not comprehensive. To learn more, talk about iLinkâ„¢ corneal cross-linking with your healthcare provider.
The FDA-approved product labeling can be found at www.LivingWithKeratoconus.com. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Other Corneal Dystrophies We Treat
Map-Dot-Fingerprint Dystrophy
- Usually painless and may clear up on its own
- Affects adults 40-70 or children with a family history
- Can cause: Severe pain if epithelial erosion occurs
- Treatment: Eye patches, drops, ointments
Fuchs’ Dystrophy
- Gradual deterioration of corneal cells
- Early sign: Blurred vision when you wake up that clears during the day
- More common in women
- Treatment: Ointments, special contacts, or corneal transplant
Lattice Dystrophy
- Protein deposits create overlapping lines in your cornea
- It can start in childhood
- May cause: Cloudy vision and epithelial erosion
- Treatment: Eye drops, ointments, or corneal transplant
Advanced Corneal Transplant Options
When glasses, contacts, and medications can’t restore clear vision, corneal transplants can give you your sight back.
Modern Transplant Techniques
DSEK (Partial Corneal Transplant)
Instead of replacing your entire cornea, we only replace the damaged layer:
- Smaller incision and faster healing
- Lower rejection risk (half the risk of full transplants)
- More predictable vision outcomes
- New glasses in just one month after surgery
- Stronger eyes with less risk of injury
DMEK (Latest Advanced Technique)
The most advanced corneal transplant available:
- Even thinner tissue for better vision outcomes
- Lowest rejection rates of any transplant method
- Best visual results available
- Ideal for Fuchs’ dystrophy patients