An interdisciplinary framework for management of ocular allergy: Integrating the allergist in clinical practice

Ocular allergy represents one of the most frequent yet under-recognized manifestations of pediatric allergic disorders, affecting up to 30% of children worldwide. The disease encompasses a spectrum ranging from mild, intermittent seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis to severe, vision-threatening forms such as vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) and atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC). Despite its high prevalence and the strong association with systemic allergic diseases—including asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis—the involvement of pediatric allergists in routine ocular allergy care remains limited. This review proposes an interdisciplinary framework that integrates allergists more centrally into ocular allergy management. A structured approach to diagnosis highlights the allergist’s essential role in identifying systemic triggers, performing allergy testing, and differentiating ocular allergy from mimics such as viral conjunctivitis, blepharitis, and autoimmune ocular surface disease. Management, as a stepwise, collaborative strategy beginning with allergen avoidance and topical dual-acting antihistamine/mast-cell stabilizers, progressing to steroid-sparing immunomodulators, systemic therapy, and advanced options such as allergen immunotherapy, emerging biologic treatments, including omalizumab and dupilumab, is discussed in the context of severe VKC and AKC, along with benefits, limitations, and need for ophthalmic oversight. This framework underscores the importance of timely referral from ophthalmologists to pediatric allergists, co-management of complex cases, and early integration of systemic allergy care. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, long-term visual outcomes can be improved and inappropriate steroid use minimized. A practical interdisciplinary care pathway and treatment escalation algorithm are proposed to facilitate real-world collaborative management.