الفهرس 
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Abstract
Allergic conjunctivitis in childhood and adolescent age is
common and may be mistaken for infective conjunctivitis. Among the
different varieties of allergic conjunctivitis, vernal keratoconjunctivitis
(VKC) is the most troublesome, where the child suffers from intense
itching grittiness, mucoid discharge, redness, lacrimation, and
photophobia.
Affected patients may be allergic to airborne allergens like
pollens, mites, molds, and animal dandruff. VKC mostly affects
young boys between 5-20 years with a self-limiting course. It starts
resolving around puberty, and it rarely persists beyond the age of 25
years.
VKC is a debilitating disease because of the severe discomfort,
but more importantly, it is a potential sight-threatening disorder.
Patients with VKC experience significant morbidity, which affects the
quality of life by the intense itching, causing dryness sensation, vision
fatigue and even reading difficulties.
Moreover, a vision-threatening corneal complication in severe
and chronic cases coupled with potential iatrogenic side effects makes
VKC a concerning ocular surface disorder. These findings suggest that treatment of VKC should improve
not only the children’s signs and symptoms but also their daily life
and functioning. Vision has an essential role in a child’s development,
and a visual deficit is a risk factor not only for altered vision-sensory
development but also for overall socioeconomic status throughout life.
Ocular allergies are not only distressing to patients but they
have contributed to increased health care costs. Hypersensitivity may perhaps be considered as a practical, emotional and psychosocial
health problem – not primarily a physical.