Eye care in the community

We often meet patients in optometric practice who have a diagnosed connective tissue disorder and understanding their condition and their ocular and systemic implications is important and requires both empathy for the patient and a good knowledge of the condition. This, in turn, will help you guide the patients correctly and develop appropriate management. In this article I will review two patients; one presenting with dry eyes and one with subluxation of the crystalline lens.

Case 1

A 22-year-old female patient complained of dry eyes when presenting for a routine eye examination. She had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome a year ago after becoming aware of various symptoms such as joint pain, bladder problems and recurrent infections.