Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) found that sore eyes were one of the new symptoms of Covid-19. Based on the new research published in the journal BMJ Open Ophthalmology, eye pain is the most significant vision-based indicator of Covid-19.
Quoted from Science Daily, Tuesday (8/12/2020), the research was conducted by filling out a questionnaire.
"This is the first study investigating various eye symptoms that indicate conjunctivitis in relation to Covid-19," said study leader from the Vision and Eye Research Institute at ARU, Professor Shahina Pardhan.
Inflammation or infection
Inflammation or infection Conjunctivitis, as quoted from the Mayo Clinic, is inflammation or infection of the transparent membrane (conjunctiva) that lines the eyelids and covers the whites of the eyeball.
When the tiny blood vessels in the conjunctiva are inflamed, they are more visible and this is what causes the whites of the eyes to appear reddish or pink. Usually this problem is characterized by red eyes accompanied by itching and watery eyes.
Reporting from Medical Xpress, the researchers asked people with a confirmed Covid-19 diagnosis to fill out questionnaires about their symptoms, and how they compared before they tested positive.
The study found that eye pain was significantly more common when participants had Covid-19, with 16 percent reporting the problem as one of their symptoms.
Only 5 percent reported having experienced the condition before.
Then, about 18 percent of people report having photophobia (light sensitivity) as one of their symptoms, this is only a 5 percent increase from the state before Covid-19.
The most common symptoms
Of the 83 respondents, 81 percent reported eye problems within two weeks of other Covid-19 symptoms.
Of these, 80 percent reported their eye problems lasting less than two weeks.
"While it is important that eye symptoms be included in the list of possible Covid-19 symptoms, we believe that eye pain should replace 'conjunctivitis' because it is important to differentiate it from symptoms of other types of infection, such as bacterial infection, which manifests as mucus in the eye," Shahina said.
"This study is important because it helps us understand more about how Covid-19 can infect the conjunctiva and how this then allows the virus to spread throughout the body," he added.
Still from the same source, the most common symptoms reported overall were fatigue (suffered by 90 percent of respondents), fever (76 percent) and dry cough (66 percent).
It's just that it still needs further research on eye pain to be a symptom of Covid-19.