Acne vulgaris and ocular dryness

Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris is an inflammatory disorder of pilosebaceous unit, which runs a chronic course and it is self-limiting. Hence; the present study was undertaken for assessing the prevalence of ocular dryness in patients with acne vulgaris. Materials & methods: A total of 100 patients with confirmed diagnosis of acne vulgaris (both inflammatory and non-inflammatory) complaining of eye irritation, foreign body sensation, watering or redness were enrolled. Screening of all the patients was done for dry eyes. Schirmer's test, tear film breakup time (TBUT), tear film height, presence of conjunctival injection, punctate epithelial erosions (PEE), and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) were used to diagnose dry eye. Complete demographic and clinical details of all the subjects were obtained. A Performa was made and clinical details of all the subjects were recorded simultaneously. All the results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet and were analysed by SPSS software. Results: Burning sensation/watering and foreign body sensation were the presenting complaint in 69 percent and 22 percent of the subjects respectively. Frequent redness and blurring of vision were the presenting complaints in 6 percent and 12 percent of the subjects respectively. Clear cornea was seen in 13 percent of the subjects while lusterless was seen in 79 percent of the subjects. Fluorescein staining was positive in 56 percent of the subjects while Schirmer’s test was positive in 39 percent of the subjects. Overall, dry eyes were seen in 43 percent of the subjects. Conclusion: Androgenic hormones affect both acne vulgaris and mebomian glands. Hence; a strong correlation exists between acne vulgaris and ocular dryness.