What are the early symptoms of trachoma

If you want to effectively treat trachoma, you must pay attention to early detection and early treatment measures. The early symptoms mainly manifest as photophobia, tearing, and pain, so correct judgment must be made through examination and characteristics.

1. Blurred blood and blood vessels: Due to vascular dilation, there is diffuse infiltration of chronic inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes and plasma cells under the conjunctival epithelium, making the transparent conjunctiva turbid and thickened, with unclear blood vessel outlines and a blurred and congested appearance.

2. Papillary hypertrophy: The surface of the conjunctiva is rough and uneven, showing countless velvety dots, which are formed by the dilated capillary network and epithelial proliferation.

3. Filter hyperplasia: It is the aggregation of localized lymphocytes on the basis of diffuse infiltration of the subepithelial tissue of the conjunctiva. At the onset of trachoma, scattered fine yellow-white dots appear on the upper eyelid conjunctiva, which do not protrude from the conjunctival surface and are interspersed between the hypertrophic papillae. This is one of the bases for early diagnosis of trachoma.

4. Corneal pannus: When the conjunctiva is diseased, the vascular network in the semi-lunar gray-white area at the upper edge of the cornea becomes congested first, and new blood vessels are generated, extending into the transparent corneal epithelium and the anterior elastic layer. There are gray-white punctate infiltrations between each new blood vessel. This is a tissue reaction of the corneal epithelium to Chlamydia trachomatis, called corneal pannus. It is one of the bases for early diagnosis of trachoma. As the disease progresses, pannus hang down toward the pupil area in rows, resembling curtains. When the pannus above moves downward over the pupil area, pannus also grow in other directions of the cornea and move toward the center, covering the entire cornea. When cell infiltration is severe, hypertrophic fleshy pannus may form. (pannuscrassus), which seriously affects vision.

5. Scar formation: When trachoma progresses for several years or even decades, all inflammatory lesions such as follicles and papillae will ulcerate or necrotize, and are gradually replaced by connective tissue to form scars, which indicates that the lesions have entered the regression stage.

The course of trachoma varies depending on the severity of the infection and whether it recurs. For mild cases or those without recurrent infection, the disease can be cured in a few months, leaving thin scars or no obvious scars on the conjunctiva. For those who are repeatedly infected, the course of the disease can last for several years to decades.