Symptoms of vernal conjunctivitis are usually seasonal, tending to flare up during the warmest parts of the spring and summer. However, some patients may have symptoms year-round. Exposure to wind, dust, bright light, hot weather or physical exertion often intensifies symptoms. In addition, the symptoms of vernal conjunctivitis tend to become milder as the patient gets older and most children outgrow the condition by early adulthood.

Unlike atopic keratoconjunctivitis, symptoms do not affect the skin of the eyelids and the eyelid margins. Instead, vernal conjunctivitis mostly affects the membrane lining the back of the eyelid (tarsal conjunctiva) and the area where the white of the eye and the cornea meet (limbus).

In most cases, vernal conjunctivitis is found in both eyes of the affected person (bilateral), but symptoms may be worse in one eye than the other. Signs and symptoms often associated with vernal conjunctivitis include:

• Intense eye itchiness that may worsen with exposure to light, wind or dust. Hot temperatures or sweating due to exercise may also worsen eye itchiness associated with vernal conjunctivitis.
  
  
• Excessive rubbing of the eyes.
  
  
• Pain, especially when blinking or when eyes are closed.
  
  
• Intense sensitivity to light (photophobia), including eye burning and pain.
  
  
• Red eye with raised, white oozing skin lesions around the cornea (the eye's outermost layer).
  
  
• Excessive tearing.
  
  
• Blurred vision.
  
  
• Sensation of foreign body in the eye.
  
  
• Cobblestone pattern of bumps (papillae) and white mucus on inner-eyelid membrane.
  
  
• Stringy, ropy discharge from the papillae on the inner-eyelid membrane.
  
  
• Yellowish-white spots where the white of the eye and the cornea meet (limbus). These are known as Horner-Trantas dots.
  
  
• Extra lower eyelid crease (Dennie’s line).
  
  
• Corneal ulcer (open sore invading the cornea).
  
  
• Cataract (clouding of the eye lens).

Individuals experiencing the signs and symptoms of vernal conjunctivitis should contact their physician.