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Eye diseases in travelers
Affiliations- Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, 128 Szaserów St., 04-141 Warsaw, Poland
- Polish Society of Maritime, Tropical and Travel Medicine, 9B Powstania Styczniowego St., 81-519 Gdynia, Poland
open access
Abstract
Travelling has been growing in popularity over the last several decades. Eye diseases, e.g. decreased visual acuity, inflammatory or degenerative lesions, chronic diseases or eye trauma, affect all groups of travelers. The main risk factors contributing to the manifestation or exacerbation of common ocular diseases include exposure to dry air (inside the airplane cabin or in air-conditioned hotel rooms), exposure to chlorinated or salty water (swimming/bathing in swimming pools or in the sea), and sudden changes in the weather conditions. In addition, travelers to tropical destinations are at risk of ocular diseases which are rarely seen in temperate climate, e.g. onchocerciasis, loiasis, gnatostomosis, African trypanosomosis, or trachoma. The most common condition of the eye seen in travelers is conjunctivitis; it may be either of cosmopolitan (bacterial or viral infections, allergic inflammation) or tropical etiology, e.g. arboviral infections (zika, chikungunya). Given the fact that a large proportion of the general population have decreased visual acuity and many of them wear contact lenses rather than glasses, keratitis has become a common health problem among travelers as well; the major risk factors in such cases include sleeping in contact lenses, prolonged exposure to air-conditioning, working with a computer or swimming/bathing in microbiologically contaminated water (e.g. Acanthoamoeba protozoa). Conditions affecting the cornea, conjunctiva or lens may also occur due to excessive exposure to solar radiation, especially if travelers wear glasses without a UV protection.
Abstract
Travelling has been growing in popularity over the last several decades. Eye diseases, e.g. decreased visual acuity, inflammatory or degenerative lesions, chronic diseases or eye trauma, affect all groups of travelers. The main risk factors contributing to the manifestation or exacerbation of common ocular diseases include exposure to dry air (inside the airplane cabin or in air-conditioned hotel rooms), exposure to chlorinated or salty water (swimming/bathing in swimming pools or in the sea), and sudden changes in the weather conditions. In addition, travelers to tropical destinations are at risk of ocular diseases which are rarely seen in temperate climate, e.g. onchocerciasis, loiasis, gnatostomosis, African trypanosomosis, or trachoma. The most common condition of the eye seen in travelers is conjunctivitis; it may be either of cosmopolitan (bacterial or viral infections, allergic inflammation) or tropical etiology, e.g. arboviral infections (zika, chikungunya). Given the fact that a large proportion of the general population have decreased visual acuity and many of them wear contact lenses rather than glasses, keratitis has become a common health problem among travelers as well; the major risk factors in such cases include sleeping in contact lenses, prolonged exposure to air-conditioning, working with a computer or swimming/bathing in microbiologically contaminated water (e.g. Acanthoamoeba protozoa). Conditions affecting the cornea, conjunctiva or lens may also occur due to excessive exposure to solar radiation, especially if travelers wear glasses without a UV protection.
Keywords
eye diseases, travelers, treatment, prevention
About this articleTitle
Eye diseases in travelers
Journal
Issue
Article type
Review article
Pages
78-84
Published online
2020-03-21
Page views
2096
Article views/downloads
1759
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
IMH 2020;71(1):78-84.
Keywords
eye diseases
travelers
treatment
prevention
Authors
Krzysztof Korzeniewski
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