Conjunctivitis And Its Types

Good Morning friends!

I am Dr. Harshavardhan Ghorpade. Today I am going to speak to you about a very common condition that we all encounter and that is Conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is of two types, Infectious and Allergic. Infectious can be of two types, bacterial and viral. The Bacterial Conjunctivitis is usually seen in the rainy seasons while the viral conjunctivitis is commonly seen in the summer seasons. The commonest cause of the spread of this conjunctivitis is direct contact.

If you happen to encounter a person say in a swimming pool with infection or someone at home or office, you have to be aware, that it could be transmitted to you through contact. It can happen through direct contact or through indirect contact that is through towels, napkins or even at touch at the tap or the bolt of a door. Once you know that you have encountered this condition, then you need to go immediately to the eye doctor because the common symptoms are redness, watery discharge and a lot of swelling of the eyes. If you try to self medicate, there can be complications. So the best way is to go to the doctor. However even better than that is to avoid contact through such a person.

How do you do that? First, ask the person not to touch his eyes repeatedly. If he touches his eyes, then ask him to wash them thoroughly, at least twice with clean water and soap. At the same time you should avoid touching the places where the person may have contacted and clean them thoroughly. Apart from that the patient has to put regular antibiotic drops and other drops that are being prescribed. The viral conjunctivitis is more dangerous because it spreads very rapidly and it can spread into a family very quickly. Also it can lead to some complications like membranes in the eyes, and black spots or white spots appearing in front on the black part of the eye that is a cornea, which can lead to blurring of vision.

This complication needs to be treated with utmost care because it can lead to long term blurring of vision as well. So talking about the other types of conjunctivitis that is Allergic, it is commonly associated in peep patients who are allergic to certain things like dust, pollen grains or insects and mites that are seen on the mattresses. It can also happen to people who are allergic to certain medications or food types. The patient mainly comes with itching of the eyes and swollen eyes and the treatment involves total different approach as compared to an infectious conjunctivitis. So the best way is to go to the doctor, have a check, try to find out what type of conjunctivitis it is and then we can treat accordingly.

The allergic conjunctivitis can mainly be treated by anti inflammatory drops, lubricating drops as well as avoiding the allergens mainly dust and pollen grains. However it is not always possible and we may have to give long term treatment to such patients and as regards conjunctivitis I would also like to add one small note. Please do not use contact lenses when you have any kind of eye infection because they can definitely cause corneal or any type of other complications which can lead to blindness. So contact lenses never to be used during any kind of conjunctivitis and at the same time you should take good care of your contact lenses that includes cleaning them daily, not wearing them during sleep and using them only for the period for which they have been prescribed. For example, if they have been used to use for 8 hours, you should use them for 8 hours, if they have to be used for a month, they should be used for a month and not more than that and definitely

I would say monthly disposable lenses are a better option than using a yearly disposable lens. So that is all in short about two types of main conjunctivitis. Remember to avoid contact, wash your hands thoroughly and show the doctor as early as possible and please avoid self-medication. Thank you. Stay healthy. Stay fit. Thank you very much and to contact and know more about me go to lybrate.com.

Thank you!