A recent study found 3 eye symptoms suffered by those infected with the emerging corona virus, which causes "Covid-19," so what are they, and what is their incidence?

The study was conducted by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, and it included 83 people diagnosed with "Covid-19", and it was published in the journal "BMJ Open Ophthalmology".

The researchers found that the three most common eye symptoms the participants experienced were:

1- Photophobia (discomfort with light), which was experienced by 18% of the participants.

2 - Inflammation of the eye "sore eyes", and its percentage was 16%.

3- Itchy eyes 17%.

81% of the participants reported experiencing eye symptoms within two weeks of other "Covid-19" symptoms, which are dry cough (66%), fever (76%), fatigue (90%), and loss of smell-taste (70%). .

And 80% of those reported that eye symptoms lasted for less than two weeks.

The following diagram shows 9 of the most prominent symptoms of Corona virus, and to find out a detailed list of symptoms of Corona infection, click on this link.

Spread range

The researchers said there are many reports of eye symptoms, which show a wide range of prevalence.

However, it is possible that the eye symptoms were not taken into account in the presence of other, more severe symptoms upon admission to the hospital.

The researchers stated that a previous study conducted on 56 patients with "Covid-19" showed that 15 people (27%) had eye symptoms that include eye inflammation, itching, foreign body sensation, hyperaemia, and secretions (although The type of secretions was not observed), as 6 patients reported ocular symptoms that appeared before respiratory symptoms or fever.

But another study in China, which included 534 confirmed cases of "Covid-19", reported a much smaller percentage (5%) of people who had eye symptoms, such as a feeling of a foreign body and blurred vision.

In both studies, an association was reported between disease severity and the prevalence of eye symptoms.

Some studies have also reported the presence of the emerging corona virus - its scientific name, "SARS-CoV-2) - in conjunctival swabs in people with eye symptoms, and also in those who did not have any visual symptoms.

And one study suggested that eye symptoms may be the only symptom of "Covid-19".

Since eye symptoms are not as dangerous as other life-threatening symptoms of "Covid-19", it is possible that they were not reported in light of other, more serious symptoms.