Incidence of photokeratitis after a salon visit: A retrospective observational study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the incidence of bilateral photokeratitis in patrons of hair-cutting salons following inadvertent exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from germicidal sterilizing cabinets.

Materials and methods: It is a retrospective observational study of 30 patients who were diagnosed with UV-associated photokeratitis after a visit to a salon.

Results: Thirty patients presented between January 2019 and November 2023, with bilateral conjunctival congestion with superficial punctate epithelial erosions typical of photokeratitis. All of them were males, aged between 27 and 64 years (mean = 35 years; median = 33 years). All of them gave a history of a visit to a salon within 24 h before the onset of symptoms. The typical onset of symptoms was seen after a few hours of exposure, ranging from 4 to 12 (mean = 7.4; median = 6.5 h). They were treated with topical lubricants and antibiotics. Six of them were reviewed after 24 h when five were asymptomatic and one patient developed a corneal epithelial defect.

Conclusion: Germicidal UV lamps are used ubiquitously for disinfection in barbershops. This report highlights the risk of accidental exposure to such lamps and the need to increase awareness among the general public to prevent such accidents.