COVID could damage your vision, new study says. Keep an eye out for these symptoms

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can cause ocular infection by breaching the blood-retinal barrier, layers of cells that shield the retina, the part of your eye that senses light, from microbial pathogens. (Credit: Prostock-Studio via Getty Images)

If you’ve had COVID-19, you may want to have your eyes checked. SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease, can infect the inside of your eyes, according to research published in April in the journal PLOS Pathogens. This holds true even if the virus didn’t enter your body through the surface of your eyes.

Pawan Kumar Singh, PhD, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, led a team of researchers who found that inhaled viruses can reach highly protected organs such as the eyes, potentially causing long-term damage. SARS-CoV-2 does so by breaching the blood-retinal barrier, layers of cells that shield the retina, the part of your eye that senses light, from microbial pathogens.