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"   Question My 11-year-old son has recurrent vernal conjunctivitis, which is treated with eye drops \u2013 once for a period of three months.  Again he has just come off these drops and within five days his eyes are swollen, red, itchy and badly inflamed in the corners.   Answer I&amp;#039;m sorry to hear that your son is having such awful problems with his eyes.  Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (to give the condition its full name) is a relatively rare, severe inflammation of the conjunctiva (the inner surface of the eyelids), which I&amp;#039;m afraid, can last five years or more.  The majority of people who suffer from this condition have eczema or asthma, but it is rare to find a specific trigger factor, which causes the condition.  About 85 per cent of patients are boys, and the problem starts below the age of ten in three-quarters of sufferers.  Flare-ups in the conjunctivitis are often seasonal and may cause inflammation of the cornea (the front surface of the eye), sometimes leading to the development of an ulcer, which could permanently affect vision. Management of this condition should be supervised by a hospital eye specialist (ophthalmologist) so I assume your son is under the care of such a specialist.  If so, you should tell the consultant about the problems your son has experienced since stopping his steroid eye drops.  The specialist may suggest restarting the drops or trying other non-steroid allergy eye drops such as sodium cromoglicate although these, used alone, are usually only of benefit in mild cases.  Sometimes, as well as inflammation, a secondary infection in the eyes occurs and if this is the case with your son he may need antibiotic eyedrops in addition to other treatment.  Yours sincerely The NetDoctor Medical Team  Other Q&amp;amp;amp;As Can you tell me about Hirschsprung&amp;#039;s disease? Congenital ptosis Cystic fibrosis Dandy-Walker syndrome Does my son have Klinefelter&amp;#039;s syndrome? Fragile X syndrome Help needed for Osgood-Schlatter&amp;#039;s disease Henoch-Sch\u00F6nlein purpura Henoch-Sch\u00F6nlein purpura Hydrocephalus I&amp;#039;m worried about my two-year-old&amp;#039;s lungs I think my son has Paget&amp;#039;s disease Kawasaki syndrome \u2013 what are the long-term consequences? Multiple sclerosis in childhood My daughter has a hole-in-the-heart My daughter has hypothyroidism My daughter was born with a sacral dimple My grandson has Aarskog syndrome My nephew has a germ cell tumour My nephew has neuromata My son has Gilbert&amp;#039;s disease Niemann-Pick disease Sacral dimple on the base of the spine Scoliosis Spina bifida occulta Tetralogy of Fallot Thrombocytopenia What causes hydronephrosis? What does &amp;#039;crossed lateral&amp;#039; mean? What is autoimmune colitis? What is brittle asthma? What is fragile X syndrome? What is hemihypertrophy? What is Henoch-Sch\u00F6nlein purpura? What is Hirschsprung&amp;#039;s? What is Hirschsprung&amp;#039;s disease? What is HSP? What is Kabuki syndrome? What is Kawasaki disease? What can you tell me about Perthes&amp;#039; disease? What is Perthes&amp;#039; disease? What is Pierre Robin syndrome? What is pulmonary oedema? What is spina bifida occulta?  Last updated 04.06.2014 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ask-the-expert/pregnancy-and-family/a9696/vernal-conjunctivitis-problem/>