Eyes are the Windows to the Soul. What if they are also the windows for COVID-19 infection? I began wearing face shields or glasses along with my face mask anytime I teach students in person. How COVID-19 infections spread is still not sufficiently understood. The main route of transmission is by respiratory droplets released from infected persons. Transmission via surfaces appears less frequent. The virus acts like no pathogen humanity has ever seen.
Doctor Joseph Fair took a flight to New Orleans and took every precaution by wearing a face mask, gloves and he had Purel to wipe down all surfaces around him on the flight. Despite his precautions he was infected by COVID-19. The eyes are one of three known routs of getting the infection. The nose and mouth are the most common routes and most people do not consider they eyes. Droplets landing on your eyes are just as infectious. He was not wearing goggles. Passengers were not social distanced. They were packed in like sardines. He developed symptoms 3-4 days later. He was in the hospital in critical condition but has since improved.
The CDC says, “it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.” “Based upon what we know, I would say that the possibility of acquiring it on the surface of your eye is possible. It’s certainly plausible,” said Dr. Thomas Steinemann. “Any sort of open mucosa [mucous membrane] is a chance for a droplet to land there and get into your body,” said Dr. Abraar Karan. She followed up, “It’s hard to quantify exactly what the risk is in terms [of] through the eye specifically.”
Edward E. Manche, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University Medical School, says that while doctors don’t know for sure, many think eye infection can happen. “I think it’s widely believed now that you can acquire it through the eye. A Johns Hopkins research study, suggests that there’s a good likelihood that the ocular surface cells are susceptible to infection by COVID-19. That study is now under pier review. That study examined 10 post-mortem eyes and five surgical samples of conjunctiva from patients who did not have the COVID-19. They wanted to see whether the eyes’ surface cells produced the key receptor for COVID-19, the ACE2 receptor.
COVID-19 has been known to cause Conjunctivitis which is an inflammation of the membrane that lines the front of the eye and inner eyelid, and is more common in the sickest patients. If the virus invades and infiltrates your conjunctiva – the clear tissue covering the white part of your eye and the inside of your eyelids – likely “there’s going to be inflammation or redness in your eyes,” Steinemann said. To become infected through your eyes, the virus would have to penetrate the eyes’ mucous membrane, be washed by tears behind your cheeks into your nasal cavity, and then flow from the nose into your throat. “It’s a more circuitous route,” says Steinemann. Our eyes have a number of defense mechanisms that help protect against infection, like eyelids that blink to cover the eye and tears that contain immunoglobulins that fight invaders.
The basic precautions against COVID-19 still hold when it comes to your eyes, says Steinemann: Wash your hands, practice social distancing – and “don’t touch your face” also means don’t rub your eyes. I ware a face shield any time I go in to work. I was surprised at how many times the shield blocked me from touching my face or mask. I forget I am wearing the shield.
You don’t need to be wearing a face shield on your walk around the neighborhood or your visit to the grocery store, Steinemann notes. For those situations, he recommends wearing a mask and practicing good hygiene and social distancing.