Conjunctivitis: causes, symptoms and treatment

Do you have severe watery eyes, a burning sensation, or pus? Most likely, this is how conjunctivitis manifests itself. This disease affects not only children, but also adults. Let's take a look at what causes conjunctivitis and how to deal with it.

Causes of conjunctivitis

There may be several factors that lead to the onset of this disease. Most often, the eyes begin to turn red and watery due to an allergic reaction, eye irritation under the influence of a foreign body, or infection.

The causative agent of infection can be:

• Bacteria that cause lung disease, such as staphylococci or microorganisms responsible for diseases of the genitourinary system.
• Viruses that lead to colds.

Conjunctivitis of an allergic nature occurs under the influence of an irritating substance - an allergen. This type of conjunctivitis is common in people who are sick. asthma or allergic rhinitis. Conjunctivitis caused by decorative cosmetics or medications, such as eye drops, can be attributed to the same type of disease.

Types of conjunctivitis

Depending on the cause of the disease, conjunctivitis is divided into the following types:

• Allergic is explained by the reaction of the human body to the action of an irritating allergen. Pollen or dust can be used as an irritant. In this case, the allergen causes the release of active cells of the immune system of the conjunctiva, which provokes redness and discomfort in the eye.

• Viral conjunctivitis is a consequence of a viral illness. Due to the disease, human immunity is significantly reduced. Then, along with the dirt, viruses that provoke conjunctivitis can get into the eye.
• Adenoviral conjunctivitis occurs due to the penetration of respiratory viruses. Most often, this form of conjunctivitis appears in the fall or spring, when an outbreak of respiratory diseases occurs.
• The bacterial form of conjunctivitis is provoked by various kinds of bacteria or eye trauma, dirt trapped in the tear duct.

Conjunctivitis symptoms

Common to all types of conjunctivitis are symptoms such as a burning sensation and irritation in the eyes, redness of the eyeball and mucous membranes of the eyes, intolerance to bright light. The patient may feel a slight sore throat, his temperature rises and there is headache... Together with these manifestations, there are symptoms characteristic of each type of conjunctivitis separately.

With conjunctivitis caused by allergies, both eyes are affected at the same time. If conjunctivitis is caused by eye drops, then it begins to manifest itself a few hours after the drug is used. First, edema is observed, then burning and purulent discharge are connected. With the bacterial form of the disease, abundant purulent discharge appears first in one eye, then the infection passes to the other. The adenovirus form is characterized by a long incubation period. Then there is a sharp deterioration. There is swelling, redness and hemorrhage in the eyeball. After a few days, the disease passes to the other eye.

Conjunctivitis treatment

Almost all varieties of this disease are contagious. The only exception is the allergic form. This means that with such an illness, it is important to observe all personal hygiene measures - to use a separate towel, not to touch your eyes with dirty hands, and in every possible way to avoid close contact with the patient.

Treatment of conjunctivitis must be prescribed by a doctor. The allergic form requires the mandatory use of antihistamine drugs. These can be syrups, tablets, or eye drops.

To treat the bacterial form, special eye drops or ointments containing antibiotics are used. In recent years, the drug Floxal has been used to get rid of bacterial conjunctivitis, which kills pathogenic bacteria. To prevent a relapse of the disease, it is necessary to use the prescribed drug for at least 7 days, even if the symptoms of the disease no longer appear. This is because bacteria can adapt to the effects of the drug. Then re-treatment will not be as effective and will take much longer.

Conjunctivitis of a viral nature is cured by drugs with interferon. If at the same time a bacterial infection joins, then drops containing antibiotics are used.

Basically, treatment for any form of conjunctivitis takes about two to three weeks. But in some severe cases, treatment can last more than a month.

Conjunctivitis drops

Depending on the type of disease, appropriate drugs are prescribed. For example, to treat a viral form, drops are used that act on viruses at the cellular level. They create conditions that are impossible for the virus to multiply and destroy them. Most often, the following drops are used against viral conjunctivitis:

• Florenal - influencing the cells of the virus. It must be instilled into both eyes on the recommendation of an ophthalmologist several times a day.
• Tebrofen has the same principle of action, but it is applied no more than 3 times a day.
• Gludantan drops are highly effective and have no side effects. They can be used to eliminate allergic conjunctivitis.
• Interferon in solutions is used to neutralize infection and increase the immunity of the mucous membrane of the eye.

To get rid of the bacterial form, antimicrobial drugs are needed. In this case, the following drops are prescribed:

• Albucid is available in different dosages. A lower concentration of medicinal substances is used to treat children. These drops are highly effective, they are good at eliminating redness and swelling.
• Oftadek can be used up to 5 times a day, it is a very effective drug.
• Tobrex drops are a fairly effective drug that quickly relieves the symptoms of the disease.

Alternative treatment of conjunctivitis

During the treatment of conjunctivitis prescribed by a doctor, alternative methods can be used as a supplement to reduce the manifestation of symptoms of the disease. If you decide to use such recipes, be sure to consult with the specialist conducting the treatment.

Infusion of rose petals is used for compresses and rinsing the eyes. To prepare it, grind a spoonful of rose petals and boil with boiling water (1 glass), leave for about half an hour. The compress from this infusion should be kept in front of your eyes for 30 minutes or longer. In the same way, you can prepare an infusion of cornflower flowers and use it to wash the eyes from pus.

If conjunctivitis is in an advanced stage, a lot of pus is released, then compresses can be applied to the eyes from rosehip decoction... To do this, take a large spoonful of dried rose hips, pour a glass of water and put on fire. After boiling, turn off the heat and leave the berries to infuse for half an hour.

Juice from aloe... You can buy it as a ready-made drug at a pharmacy or squeeze it yourself. Aloe juice should be mixed with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 and compresses from it four times a day.

To get rid of conjunctivitis, it is good to use drops with honey. Stir in a spoonful of honey and two tablespoons of pure water and use to instill the eyes. The same mixture can be used to make compresses on the eyes.

To wash the eyes from purulent discharge, you can use a pharmacy chamomile. Pour two large spoons of dried chamomile flowers with a glass of boiling water and leave for an hour under the lid. Then, strain and rinse your eyes as needed.

All recipes of traditional healers can be used only as an additional remedy, but not as a main treatment.