Conjunctivitis is one of the most common eye diseases. It is difficult to find a person who has not had typical symptoms at least once in his life: reddening and irritation of the eye, tear. ..
Therefore there is an opinion that conjunctivitis is not serious, well, red eyes, combed - tomorrow will go by itself. .. It's not so! To treat conjunctivitis necessarily, seriously and skillfully.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, the disease is caused by a bacterial and viral infection, an allergic reaction, but there are other factors.
Classification of
Depending on the cause of the disease, conjunctivitis can occur:
- Bacterial - more commonly cause streptococci, pneumococci, staphylococci, gonococci, chlamydia and diphtheria bacterium;
- Viral - always accompanied by catarrhal diseases that were caused by adenoviruses. Also, conjunctivitis caused by the herpes virus is often observed;
- Allergic - occurs in response to the action of the allergen( dust, wool, pollen, etc.), can also accompany hay fever, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, etc.;
- Other types of are caused by the action of chemical substances( chemical reagents, varnishes, paints, industrial vapors, etc.).
Depending on which causative agent caused conjunctivitis, the symptoms and methods of treatment will vary.
Symptoms of conjunctivitis
The main signs of conjunctivitis are:
- redness of the conjunctiva of the eye;
- burning and irritation;
- detachable tissues are mucopurulent;
- stuck together eyelids( especially after sleep);
- eyelids edematous and crusted.
In general, conjunctivitis is manifested by edema of eyelids and conjunctiva, reddening of the eye protein, photophobia, lacrimation. A number of symptoms may indicate the cause that caused the development of the disease.
Symptoms of conjunctivitis
With conjunctivitis, symptoms will depend on the form of the disease.
- Acute - begins suddenly with pain or relief, first on one, then on the other eye. Against the background of pronounced reddening, spot hemorrhages are often observed. Appears mucous, mucopurulent or purulent discharge. This form can be accompanied by general malaise, fever and headache. Its duration ranges from 5-6 days to 2-3 weeks.
- The chronic form of is accompanied by a sensation of burning, itching, sand in the eyes, fast eye fatigue.
- If it is caused by the bacterial infection of , then there are crusty eyelids and abundant discharge from the eyes, which from time to time can acquire a greenish tinge. The inflammatory process can spread to both eyes.
- In the case of viral conjunctivitis, there will probably be swelling and tightening of the eyelids, tearing of the eyes with a small amount of discharge. In many cases, the process has a one-way flow.
- If the cause is the allergy , then it is accompanied by itching, red eyes and lacrimation. It is likely that along with this, nasal congestion and itching will be felt, there will be a discharge from the nasal passages.
- Toxic - are caused by toxic agents. In this form of the disease, irritation and pain in the eyes are felt, especially when the eyes move up or down. Itching and vydeleny usually do not.
- Blennorange - characterized by serous-bloody discharge, which after 3-4 days becomes purulent, sometimes corneal ulcers and infiltrates are formed.
- Conjunctivitis of Koha-Weeks develops in the form of a large number of small hemorrhages in the conjunctiva, an edema appears that looks like elevations within the eye gap that have the form of triangles.
There are general symptoms of conjunctivitis( see photo) that are not specific and manifest in any pathogens: hyperemia and edema of the eyelids, itching, burning, photophobia, the presence of a discharge from the eye gap( by its nature, one can assume the causative agent), a sense of foreignbody after century.
To quickly cure conjunctivitis, it is necessary to seek qualified help at the first signs of ailment.
Treatment of conjunctivitis
In order to determine how to treat conjunctivitis, it is necessary to identify the underlying cause of the disease.
To remove purulent contents, you should regularly wash eyeballs with 2% boric acid composition, and also weak solutions of furacilin and potassium permanganate. Between the washes it is recommended that antiseptic eye drops drip into the cavity of the conjunctiva( Albucid 20%).
The main treatment for conjunctivitis is appointed by an ophthalmologist, it will depend on the cause of the disease.
- When bacterial conjunctivitis for treatment appoint antibiotics in the form of drops( 0.25% solution of levomycetin, sodium sulfacyl).In the presence of an abundant discharge, the conjunctival sac is washed with solutions of furacilin( 1: 5,000), potassium permanganate( 1: 5,000), and 1% olethalin ointment( 2-3 times a day in severe process, 1 timelung).
- In the treatment of , viral conjunctivitis is assigned human leukocyte interferon or interferonogen( pyrogenal, poludan) as infusions in the conjunctival sac 6-8 times a day, as well as 0.5% florenal, 0.05% bonaflone and other ophthalmic ointments.
- In case of detection of chlamydial conjunctivitis , in addition to local treatment, systemic administration of doxycycline, tetracycline or erythromycin is indicated.
- In the treatment of of fungal conjunctivitis , nystatin, levorin, amphotericin B and others are prescribed topically in the infusions depending on the type of fungus.
- Therapy of allergic conjunctivitis includes the administration of vasoconstrictor and antihistamine drops, corticosteroids, dazzles, desensitizing preparations. With conjunctivitis of fungal etiology, antimycotic ointments and instillations( levorin, nystatin, amphotericin B, etc.) are prescribed.
- With dry eye ( occurs as a secondary post-infection lesion of either the tear apparatus, or goblet cells producing mucus, or the defeat of meibomia glands that prevent the evaporation of tears) - apply artificial tear preparations( Oxial).
A doctor ophthalmologist will tell in more detail how to treat conjunctivitis at home based on his experience.
Drops with conjunctivitis
Eye drops from conjunctivitis are the main remedy for the treatment of eye diseases, including all types of conjunctivitis. To treat conjunctivitis, adults also use antibacterial drugs, this depends on the cause that caused the disease.
- With bacterial form , such drops as Floxal, Ciprofloxacin, and others are used. To enhance the effect, tetracycline ointment can be applied over the eyelids. In most cases, the use of these drugs is enough to quickly cure conjunctivitis at home.
- With , the allergic nature of uses antihistamine drops( Opatanol, Lecrolin, etc.), as well as hormonal drops and ointments( Hydrocortisone ophthalmic ointment, Dexamethasone).
- If the cause of the disease is virus - prescribe medications containing interferon( Ophthalmoferon, Poludan).Often the infection is mixed or the causative agent of the disease can not be accurately established during examination, in this case, a complex of drops is prescribed.
As already mentioned, the nature of the disease( viral, bacterial or allergic) can be established only by the doctor ophthalmologist at full-time examination.
Self-treatment with folk remedies can lead to the development of complications or the transition of the disease to a chronic form, as they are not able to cope with the infection.