Conjunctivitis: why eyes turn red and how to treat them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Remember: don't bury chamomile.

What is conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis Pink eye (conjunctivitis) - Symptoms and causes is an inflammation of the transparent mucous membrane (conjunctiva) that covers the eye.

The smallest blood vessels of the irritated mucosa become more visible. The eye looks very red.

What are the symptoms of conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is not limited to redness alone. He has other symptoms of Pink eye (conjunctivitis) - Symptoms and causes:

• Itching. The affected eye itches noticeably.
• Pain. Typically mild, blunt, or cutting.
• Lachrymation.
• Slight swelling of the eyelids.
• A yellowish or gray discharge that can make your eyelids and eyelashes stick together, especially after sleeping.

When to see a doctor urgently

Fortunately, in most cases, conjunctivitis, although contagious enough, is safe. Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye) is quite amenable to home treatment.

However, there are situations when you need to run to a therapist or immediately to an ophthalmologist as quickly as possible. The fact is that sometimes serious eye lesions can be confused with relatively harmless conjunctivitis, which can lead to loss of vision.

Seek immediate medical attention if Conjunctivitis:

• you have a feeling that something is stuck in the eye (you feel a foreign object inside);
• the pain seems too strong;
• along with the alleged conjunctivitis, vision problems arise - the picture doubles, becomes cloudy, darkens, brightens;
• it hurts you to look at the light;
• conjunctivitis occurs in a newborn (less than 28 days old) child;
• symptoms - redness of the eye, pain, discharge - did not disappear after two weeks.

We will separately mention those who wear contact lenses. You need to give them up at the first sign of conjunctivitis. And carefully monitor the condition of the eye. If relief does not come after 12-24 hours, urgently contact your optometrist. Make sure you don't have a serious eye infection associated with contact lenses.

Where does conjunctivitis come from?

The mucous membrane of the eye becomes inflamed for various reasons. Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye).

Viruses

For example, infections that cause SARS can in some cases also affect the conjunctiva. So, in the load on snot, temperature and sore throat, you get red eyes (the virus most often affects both of them at once).

Bacteria

Infections are not only viral, but also bacterial. These sometimes pull several diseases at once: for example, blepharitis or barley. Bacterial conjunctivitis can occur in one eye or both.

Allergic reactions

Most often, the eyes react to dust or plant pollen - those allergens that easily get directly onto the mucous membrane. With allergies, both eyes also suffer at once.

Irritants

Conjunctivitis can occur if an irritating chemical, such as caustic soap, shampoo, or cosmetics, gets on the mucous membrane. Also, the cause of inflammation is sometimes an eyelash or a large speck under the eyelid.

How to treat conjunctivitis

In most cases, no special treatment is required. As a rule, the most common types of conjunctivitis - viral and caused by irritants - go away on their own. Conjunctivitis within a few days: viruses recede, dust and eyelashes are washed off with tear fluid and water when washing. The process can be accelerated by cleansing the eyes with pharmacy artificial tears and using other home care methods - more about them below.

But the course of the disease must be monitored closely.

If symptoms do not improve within 2–3 days, there is a risk that the conjunctivitis is of bacterial or allergic origin.

In this case, you must definitely contact a therapist or ophthalmologist.

Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotic drops and ointments. Keep in mind that antibiotics have side effects, and frequent inappropriate use can cause microbes to become resistant to them. Therefore, such drugs (with tetracycline, sulfacetamide, chloramphenicol, and so on) can only be prescribed by a doctor.

Antihistamines and drops are effective against allergies. They are also best selected with the help of a specialist.

How to relieve conjunctivitis symptoms at home

Here are some important rules for Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye) to help get rid of inflammation faster.

Wash your hands as often as possible

Especially before getting them in the eyes.

Keep your eyes clean

Regularly remove eyelash secretions with cotton pads and sticks moistened with chilled boiled water. Do not spare cotton wool, change discs more often, use an individual swab for each eye so as not to spread the infection. After completing the procedure, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Use artificial tears

Flush eyes with over-the-counter lubricant drops. It is enough to do this once or twice a day until the condition is relieved.

Make compresses

Apply a cool or warm compress to your eyes for 2-3 minutes - soaked in boiled water and wrung out cotton pads. This will relieve swelling, itching and discomfort. It will also help soften the crust formed on the eyelashes - then it will be easier to remove it.

Be careful with your tea

It is permissible to use compresses in the form of sachets with black, green, chamomile and other tea. Like regular compresses, they can reduce swelling and soften lash discharge. But there are currently no studies that would confirm the benefits of tea bags for treating eye infections. 6 Home Remedies for Eye Infections: Do They Work? …

Don't wear lenses

To repeat: if you wear contact lenses, give them up during illness. Try to get by with glasses. A pair of lenses that you wore before the onset of the disease are best discarded, even if the replacement time has not come yet. Most likely, the causative agents of conjunctivitis remained on them. Take it easy and get a new pair.

Humidify the air

Use an indoor humidifier to keep your eyes from drying out.

Sleep on a clean pillowcase

Wash or change the pillowcase you sleep on every day until the infection goes away.

Don't share your things

Use only an individual towel, washcloth, pillow.

What not to do with conjunctivitis

Follow these Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye) guidelines to keep things from getting worse:

• Do not scratch or rub your eyelids: this will only increase the irritation.
• Don't put on eye makeup until your conjunctivitis symptoms have subsided.
• Never share eye drops, cosmetics, or contact lenses with anyone.
• Do not drip anything into your eyes other than artificial tears and those products that your doctor prescribes for you. Traditional home remedies such as Allergic conjunctivitis to chamomile tea, tea, or furacilin solution can increase irritation.
• Do not use eye drops for more than 3 to 5 days, unless your doctor tells you to extend the treatment. Uncontrolled use of such drugs can aggravate the symptoms of conjunctivitis.