chances are if you've noticed a growth on the surface of your eyes specifically the cornea
the front clear portion of your eye it could be a pterygium or surfer's eye we're going to
talk about what it is why you have it and what you can do about it let's focus in
hey howdy everybody i'm dr neal guymon dr eye guy with the show that helps keep your eyes
healthy and your vision clear and i do a lot of educational videos like this one as well as
product reviews and how-to videos so make sure you subscribe if that's something you're interested in
so you don't miss any of my future videos otherwise let's talk about that surfer's eye
if you have noticed this growth that has come from the white part of the eye
stretching over to the clear part or the cornea i just want you to know that this is benign
or non-cancerous if it is a pterygium now a pterygium is a growth a conjunctival growth
the conjunctiva is actually a clear surface layer that covers the white part of the eye this surface
layer kind of acts like a skin or a barrier to the eye and sometimes it can be inflamed
and become a conjunctivitis or a pink eye but it can also grow in places that it doesn't need to
sometimes it can become elevated and also grow or stretch and reach over to the cornea or the
clear surface of the eye the cornea is that clear window that covers the eye that allows light to
pass through so you can see and it's right over the color part of the iris of the eye
now one thing you don't want to confuse this with something called a pinguecula also a conjunctival
growth that just stays on the white part of the eye can be elevated sometimes can be yellow
i actually made a video about that you can check that right here i'll put the link up there
if that's more what you're looking into this pterygium has actually specifically the growth
that goes onto the cornea now the exact cause or the reason for this pterygium is
unknown but it is linked to a few things number one definitely linked to more uv light or uv
exposure that's why it kind of has the nickname surfer's eye people that tend to be more outdoors
aren't wearing sunglasses maybe live close to the equator they get more sunlight more uv light
tend to have a pterygium more than others now the area that i live i live up in idaho
we commonly see a pterygium in farmers eyes they tend to be outdoors in a dusty windy environment
not wearing sunglasses so they get that uv light and so they are more prone to get a pterygium
another link is dryness typically if your eyes are more dry or you're exposed to dry climates
then you are more prone to get this pterygium as well it kind of causes this growth
to grow further the dry eye can be aggravated from blinks in your eyelid rubbing on the tissue
and that aggravation can cause the conjunctiva to become inflamed and also may cause this
growth a pterygium the analogy that i gave in the pinguecula video is similar to a pterygium whereas
it's kind of analogy to where you can get a callus on the palm of your hands if you're working a lot
it's kind of like that it's the eyes version of a callus now the downside though is usually once
the growth is there it doesn't go away so usually people are stuck with this thing and they're just
trying to manage it and keep it from growing bigger usually a pterygium is on the nasal
side or the part of the eye that's towards the nose and you'll actually see it almost being a
triangular pattern it usually kind of stretches out to a point now you can get it in one eye you
can get in both eyes you can get it on both sides of the eyes if you're unlucky a pterygium can also
become pretty inflamed and red and irritating again likely from these dry eyes or dry climates
and it's just from that friction and irritation from the eyelid rubbing over the dry surface
could cause it to be red and pretty sometimes painful to the patient now what can you do about
it like i said they won't go away the game becomes managing it trying to keep it from getting bigger
now first things first is you want to be wearing sunglasses to protect your eyes from that uv light
just to try and keep that pterygium from growing faster or bigger next thing is you want to try
and keep your eyes from getting dry you want to try and keep them lubricated as much as possible
that's usually best from using artificial tears or treating your dry eye condition if you have a dry
eye disease but usually if you have a pterygium or the other one the pinguecula you want to develop a
habit or a routine of using artificial tears it's kind of like putting lotion on your hands you want
to keep your eyes from getting to that dry state that may aggravate and may make that pterygium
grow bigger now if the pterygium gets big enough to where it actually crosses over and enters the
center of your vision or covers the pupil it may actually affect your vision at that point usually
the recommended treatment is surgery it's just to peel that pterygium off of there to get it out of
the way also if the pterygium is really elevated red it's causing constant irritation it's making
your eye red just looks unpleasant that also may be grounds for surgical removal just to get that
pterygium out of there so you can get rid of the irritation hopefully make your eyes look and feel
better now just be sure if you happen to see or notice a growth on your eye whether it's on the
sclera the white part of the eye the conjunctiva on the cornea like we've talked about make sure
that you go in and see your eye doctor just so you can get an official diagnosis to know exactly what
it is because you want to make sure that you know what a growth on your eye is because it could be
something else and it could be bad also usually if you have a pinguecula or a pterygium you may have
underlying conditions like a dry eye condition or a dry eye disease and so your doctor may be able
to help you with certain treatments that may treat your dry eyes also at the same time treating or
helping control that pterygium so just to review a pterygium it's a growth from the conjunctiva
that may stretch over the cornea or the clear part of your eye and a tritium is benign
non-cancerous how do you get it usually caused from uv exposure a lot of exposure to sunlight
dry dusty windy climates and may have a genetic predisposition to it what do you do about it
unfortunately that pterygium is there to stay so now becomes a management game so you want to
be using sunglasses to protect your eyes from uv exposure you want to be using artificial
tears to keep your eyes from getting dry and if it is to the point where it's so elevated it's
causing your eyes to be miserable and irritated or it's crossed over to the center of your vision
or affecting your vision then the treatment is surgery hope you like the video make sure that you
remember to subscribe and also share this video for anybody that may be interested i'm dr neal
guymon dr eye guy focusing on you and your eyes stay focused and i'll see you in the next video