Conjunctivitis in children

Among ophthalmological diseases, conjunctivitis holds one of the first positions. Often parents listen to the advice of pharmacists or older relatives and begin to treat the child themselves. You shouldn't do this. Let's figure out what conjunctivitis is and how to treat it correctly.

Causes of conjunctivitis in children

The type of conjunctivitis determines the reasons by which it is caused. The disease may be:

• Allergic– in this case, the child complains of itching in the eyes, tears flow all the time. Pus does not appear with this form of conjunctivitis.
• Viral - with a similar course of the disease, you can see irritation and redness of the eyes, pus is released in a small amount.
• Bacterial. In this case, the baby secretes thick and sticky pus.

The latter form of conjunctivitis is observed most often. Bacteria can get into a child's eye in different ways - when removing a speck from the eye or due to the habit of scratching the eyes with one's hands. Even ordinary dust can become a carrier of bacteria, which cause pus to appear in the baby’s eyes.

The viral form does not appear as often as the bacterial form, but is also quite common. Such an illness can be a consequence of ARVI or an independent illness. Viruses enter the eyes through the tear ducts, from the nose, and multiply on the mucous membrane of the eye, causing swelling and redness.

Allergic conjunctivitis is caused solely by the individual characteristics of the child’s body. Most often, allergies of this form are caused by dust, medications or pollen.

Symptoms of conjunctivitis in children

The disease begins to manifest itself with redness of the white of the eye. Then swelling of the eyelids and mucous membrane occurs. Finally, these symptoms are accompanied by discharge from the eyes in the form of pus. Often, with such manifestations of the disease, a child’s temperature rises, he eats poorly, becomes  nervous and restless   and doesn't sleep well The child most often complains of a burning sensation in the eyes and constantly scratches them. During sleep, due to purulent discharge, his eyelashes may stick together. Dried crusts of pus appear in the corners of the eyes..

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If any of these symptoms occur, you should definitely consult a pediatric ophthalmologist, who will prescribe the correct treatment by determining the nature of the disease. Self-medication for such a disease can be extremely dangerous, even leading to complete blindness.

Treatment of conjunctivitis in children

Recommendations for treating the disease depend on the cause that caused it. You do not need to choose your medicine yourself or rely on the advice of a pharmacist. The correct thing to do would be to consult an ophthalmologist and undergo all the necessary tests to determine the cause of the disease. Only a doctor can decide what exactly needs to be used to treat the baby.

Usually, ointments or drops and restorative drugs are used to get rid of conjunctivitis in a child. In this case, both the form of conjunctivitis and the age of the child are taken into account.

The bacterial form of the disease is treated with antimicrobial drugs. They suppress the activity of bacteria and cure the disease in a short time. Usually children are prescribed Albucid, Tsiprolet, Levomycetin, Futsitalmik. All of these drugs are effective against certain types of bacteria and microorganisms.

To relieve inflammation on the mucous membrane of the eyes, use Tobrex, Erythromycin, Tetracycline or Eubetal ointments.

The viral form of conjunctivitis requires the use of completely different drugs. The drugs used for treatment in this case are aimed at suppressing viruses and increasing the immune properties of the child’s body. These are medications such as Oftan Idu, Actipol and Oftalmofen.

In addition to these drugs, Florenal, Bonafton or Tebrofenova ointments are also prescribed. If conjunctivitis is caused by the herpes virus, then Acyclovir or Zovirax ointment is prescribed.

Allergic conjunctivitis usually does not require separate treatment. In this case, it will be enough to eliminate the source of the allergy. To alleviate the child's condition or to prevent illness, you can use Allergodil drops.

In addition to using medications, you should often wash your child’s eyes with chamomile decoction to remove purulent discharge. This must be done towards the inner corner of the eye and very carefully. Use disposable cotton pads for this. It is better not to use folk remedies such as compresses and lotions to treat conjunctivitis; the consequences can be disastrous.