Conjunctivitis: symptoms and treatment, photo
The defeat of the mucous membrane of the eye, which is expressed in its inflammation, is called "conjunctivitis."
The disease occurs quite often, equally in children and adults, and occurs as a result of an allergic reaction or infection with a virus or bacterial infection.
The mild form of conjunctivitis does not pose a serious threat to humans, however, the disease spreads easily, passing from person to person with non-compliance with personal hygiene rules.
The reasons for which a person develops conjunctivitis, explain the classification of the disease.
The most common conjunctivitis is viral and bacterial. Staphylococci or streptococci enter the eye through the hands, and viruses spread due to diseases such as herpes, chickenpox, tonsillitis, measles.
Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are infectious and easily transmitted from person to person by airborne droplets, as well as through public objects.
Allergic conjunctivitis develops due to eye irritation with some allergen, for example, hair, pollen, book dust, etc. The clinical picture is marked by reddening of the eyelids, red eyes, but there are no secretions from the eyes. Sometimes the disease occurs as a result of prolonged and constant exposure to the eyes of fumes of various chemical or toxic substances.
Conjunctivitis is evolved by the course of the disease:
Conjunctivitis and its specific symptoms will differ depending on the type of disease.
So, for this disease, in the case of its bacterial nature, the discharge from the eyes is viscous and opaque. Some patients may not suffer from such secretions, therefore, dry eye, pain, foreign body sensation and redness are specific signs for bacterial conjunctivitis.
Viral conjunctivitis is usually associated with colds. The main symptoms are copious lachrymation, mild itching and redness. The disease manifests itself in one eye, but quickly spreads to the other. With a severe cold caused by an adenovirus, there may be a discharge from the eyes of a non-natural nature.
In case of a person's allergy, you will be troubled by notable itching, pain in the eyes, eyelid swelling and redness. If the conjunctivitis is caused by the influence of chemical substances, then different discharge from the eyes, as a rule, is absent. A specific symptom is pain of varying severity, which can adversely affect a person's life.
Also looks at how to choose eye drops from conjunctivitis.
For the correct and effective treatment of conjunctivitis, it is first necessary to determine the cause that caused the disease. Many conjunctivitis pass on their own, but the use of drugs significantly speeds up the cure.
Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are contagious, so treatment must adhere to certain rules to avoid transmission of the disease to family members and loved ones. So, the sick person must follow the general rules of hygiene. Wash hands thoroughly, use a personal towel and a handkerchief, and do not rub your eyes with your hands or a handkerchief in case of itching.
Since the disease often begins with one eye, and then changes to another, the healthy eye can be treated as a prophylaxis. In this case, you can not use the same drops or tube of ointment for both the patient and the healthy eye. In this case, the risk of infection is significantly increased.
An exit from the situation will be the use of a separate pipette or the purchase of a second medicine package. In addition, during the treatment of conjunctivitis, it is better to stop wearing contact lenses and make-up, and in sunny weather, you should wear sunglasses so that the light does not irritate the affected eye so much.
Read also, treatment of conjunctivitis in adults.
With proper and timely treatment of complications can be avoided. Otherwise, when a person is engaged in self-medication or does nothing at all, the conjunctivitis can "please" with rather serious complications.
The first place in terms of severity of complications is keratitis - inflammation of the cornea of the eye. After it often there are scars on the cornea, which reduces visual acuity, and in some cases keratitis leads to blindness.
Often conjunctivitis, which usually takes place in an acute form, goes into chronic form without adequate treatment, which can significantly interfere with a person in everyday life. In the chronic form of conjunctivitis, symptoms such as burning, itching, eye fatigue and a feeling of "sand" or foreign body appear.
Chronic conjunctivitis, which manifests itself from time to time, aggravates the inflammatory process and can lead to a decrease in vision, tear film, photophobia and excessive lachrymation. In addition, a person can infect an infection due to itching.
All preventive measures are reduced to the implementation of general rules of personal hygiene.
The ill person should have personal towels and a pillowcase on the pillow, which should be washed more often. Instead of cotton shawls, it is better to use paper kerchiefs so as not to infect the infection in the second eye. Keep hands away from the eyes.
In case of forced contact, for example, during the use of ointment or eye drops, hands should be thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap. At the time of treatment, you should not wear lenses. Moreover, the lens should be replaced with new ones to prevent re-infection of the eyes.
To protect a healthy person from conjunctivitis, one must adhere to simple rules:
The disease occurs quite often, equally in children and adults, and occurs as a result of an allergic reaction or infection with a virus or bacterial infection.
The mild form of conjunctivitis does not pose a serious threat to humans, however, the disease spreads easily, passing from person to person with non-compliance with personal hygiene rules.
Causes of conjunctivitis
The reasons for which a person develops conjunctivitis, explain the classification of the disease.
The most common conjunctivitis is viral and bacterial. Staphylococci or streptococci enter the eye through the hands, and viruses spread due to diseases such as herpes, chickenpox, tonsillitis, measles.
Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are infectious and easily transmitted from person to person by airborne droplets, as well as through public objects.
Allergic conjunctivitis develops due to eye irritation with some allergen, for example, hair, pollen, book dust, etc. The clinical picture is marked by reddening of the eyelids, red eyes, but there are no secretions from the eyes. Sometimes the disease occurs as a result of prolonged and constant exposure to the eyes of fumes of various chemical or toxic substances.
Conjunctivitis is evolved by the course of the disease:
- is chronic, the occurrence of which is due to allergy or nasopharyngeal diseases;
- is acute, occurring most often due to viruses and bacteria.
Symptoms of conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis and its specific symptoms will differ depending on the type of disease.
So, for this disease, in the case of its bacterial nature, the discharge from the eyes is viscous and opaque. Some patients may not suffer from such secretions, therefore, dry eye, pain, foreign body sensation and redness are specific signs for bacterial conjunctivitis.
Viral conjunctivitis is usually associated with colds. The main symptoms are copious lachrymation, mild itching and redness. The disease manifests itself in one eye, but quickly spreads to the other. With a severe cold caused by an adenovirus, there may be a discharge from the eyes of a non-natural nature.
In case of a person's allergy, you will be troubled by notable itching, pain in the eyes, eyelid swelling and redness. If the conjunctivitis is caused by the influence of chemical substances, then different discharge from the eyes, as a rule, is absent. A specific symptom is pain of varying severity, which can adversely affect a person's life.
Also looks at how to choose eye drops from conjunctivitis.
Treatment of conjunctivitis
For the correct and effective treatment of conjunctivitis, it is first necessary to determine the cause that caused the disease. Many conjunctivitis pass on their own, but the use of drugs significantly speeds up the cure.
- 1) Conjunctivitis of bacterial nature is treated with local antibacterial drugs in the form of ointments or drops. Before every instillation of drops and the application of an ointment, it is necessary to get rid of purulent discharge. For this purpose, the eyes are washed with chamomile infusion or by brewing black tea.
- 2) The scheme of treatment of viral conjunctivitis depends on the reasons for its development. In the case of the herpes-related cause of development, anti-herpes drugs are used that successfully suppress the virus. In adenovirus, eye drops, which are 0.05% deoxyribonuclease solution or 20-30% sodium sulfacyl solution, are used. In addition, therapy is provided to treat concomitant acute respiratory viral infection( ARVI).For symptomatic treatment, it is necessary to make warm compresses and use drops of artificial tears, which will ease the patient's condition.
- 3) Treatment of allergic conjunctivitis is to take antihistamines. They reduce or completely remove symptoms of the disease for a while. Unfortunately, in some cases, there may be side effects, for example, edema and burning eyes, as well as headaches, drowsiness or insomnia. In addition, it is possible to use drops of artificial tears.
Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are contagious, so treatment must adhere to certain rules to avoid transmission of the disease to family members and loved ones. So, the sick person must follow the general rules of hygiene. Wash hands thoroughly, use a personal towel and a handkerchief, and do not rub your eyes with your hands or a handkerchief in case of itching.
Since the disease often begins with one eye, and then changes to another, the healthy eye can be treated as a prophylaxis. In this case, you can not use the same drops or tube of ointment for both the patient and the healthy eye. In this case, the risk of infection is significantly increased.
An exit from the situation will be the use of a separate pipette or the purchase of a second medicine package. In addition, during the treatment of conjunctivitis, it is better to stop wearing contact lenses and make-up, and in sunny weather, you should wear sunglasses so that the light does not irritate the affected eye so much.
Read also, treatment of conjunctivitis in adults.
Complications of conjunctivitis
With proper and timely treatment of complications can be avoided. Otherwise, when a person is engaged in self-medication or does nothing at all, the conjunctivitis can "please" with rather serious complications.
The first place in terms of severity of complications is keratitis - inflammation of the cornea of the eye. After it often there are scars on the cornea, which reduces visual acuity, and in some cases keratitis leads to blindness.
Often conjunctivitis, which usually takes place in an acute form, goes into chronic form without adequate treatment, which can significantly interfere with a person in everyday life. In the chronic form of conjunctivitis, symptoms such as burning, itching, eye fatigue and a feeling of "sand" or foreign body appear.
Chronic conjunctivitis, which manifests itself from time to time, aggravates the inflammatory process and can lead to a decrease in vision, tear film, photophobia and excessive lachrymation. In addition, a person can infect an infection due to itching.
Prevention of conjunctivitis
All preventive measures are reduced to the implementation of general rules of personal hygiene.
The ill person should have personal towels and a pillowcase on the pillow, which should be washed more often. Instead of cotton shawls, it is better to use paper kerchiefs so as not to infect the infection in the second eye. Keep hands away from the eyes.
In case of forced contact, for example, during the use of ointment or eye drops, hands should be thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap. At the time of treatment, you should not wear lenses. Moreover, the lens should be replaced with new ones to prevent re-infection of the eyes.
To protect a healthy person from conjunctivitis, one must adhere to simple rules:
- do not use eye drops that have ever been used by a sick person;
- do not use towels and other personal care items of a sick person;
- wash your hands with antibacterial soap;
- do not get your hands dirty in the eyes;
- protect itself against colds by strengthening immunity.