This is a quantitative, exploratory-descriptive study. It analyzed patients who suffered from Hansen's disease based on social-demographic data, clinic form and time of disease evolution. It identified ocular alterations, relating clinic form to the time of evolution of this illness. The sample was composed of a group 60 patients: 39 were men and 21 were women, 35 were tan, 19 were white and 6 were black. The examination of these patients included eye-lid muscular power, external structures, ocular mobility, cornea sensitiveness, tear production, field and visual accuracy. The clinic form was dimorphous (42); virchovian (13); undefined (3) and tuberculoid (2). Disease evolution was from 1 to 4 years in 42 of the patients. Regarding eye alterations there was a reduction of tear production (32); of eye-lid muscular power (12) and of cornea sensitiveness (10): hyperemia (13); lagophthalmos (8) and madarosis (7), mainly concentrated in the dimorphous form (43) and virchovian (15). The multibacillaries present more intense ocular problems and it was not possible to establish correlation between them and time of evolution.
hansen's disease; ocular health; primary prevention