Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your doctor.

Conditions

• Wear contact lenses
• History of eye infections
• A problem or condition present since birth (congenital defect)
• Previous eye surgery
• An eye condition that increases your risk of vision loss, such as:
  • Glaucoma or macular degeneration
  • Retinal detachment
  • Cataracts
  • Poor vision or blindness in one eye with injury to the other eye

Lifestyle choices

• Involved in day care or in a group care or group living situation
• Exposure to substances in the workplace, such as chemicals
• Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
• Drug abuse or withdrawal
• Smoking or other tobacco use

Medicines

• Blood-thinning medicines, such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin
• Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
• Eye medicines
• Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection
• Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
• Radiation therapy

Diseases

• Active shingles (herpes zoster) on the face
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Hemophilia
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• Kidney disease
• Lupus
• Lyme disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Reiter's syndrome
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sjögren's syndrome