An unusual white ring in the front of a woman's eyeball was the result of a rare condition. Above, an image of the patient's eye showing the ring around the edge of the cornea.
It looks like a costume contact lens for Halloween — an eerie white ring in a woman's eye. But this unusual eye problem was the result of a rare autoimmune condition, according to a new report of the woman's case.
The 24-year-old woman in Portugal had a long history of eye problems — for 10 years, she had experienced periods of eye redness and sensitivity to light, according to the report, published yesterday (Feb. 28) in The New England Journal of Medicine. But eventually, her vision troubles sent her to the doctor.
An eye exam revealed inflammation and "crystalline deposits" in part of her cornea, the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eyeball, according to the report. Doctors diagnosed her with a condition called interstitial keratitis, which is inflammation in the middle layer of the cornea. ['Eye' Can't Look: 9 Eyeball Injuries That Will Make You Squirm