Background: Pterygium isa wing shaped fibrovascular degeneration of the bulbar conjunctiva that grows towards and over the cornea. It is also called “Nakoona” in Hindi, due to its resemblance to a nail in its shape.

Methods: Thisretrospective observational study was conducted at Department of Ophthalmology ofGMC Kota, Rajasthan, India. A total of 393 eyeswith pterygium were examined for various sociodemographic factors especially age, sex, residence, occupation, position and nature of pterygium etc. on the occurrence of this problem.

Results: In the present study, out of 393 eyes, 34.35% were in the age of 31–40 years followed by 23.16%in 41–50years, 64.38% were males whereas 69.21% belong to rural areas. The incidence was found to be maximum among farmers 35.11% followed by labourers 21.12%. The right eye was involved in 52.16% cases while majority 96.18% cases of pterygium were nasal. Progressive pterygium was found in 82.19% and the most common complaint of the patients was appearance of fleshy mass and cosmatic disfigurement (77.35%) .

Conclusions:.People who work outdoors are subjected to involuntary exposure to environmental irritants like heat, dust, fumes, gases and UV radiation which are the main etiological factors, should take appropriate precautions such as use of UV protective glasses, hats and umbrellas to protect their eyes.