The eyes and eyelids are covered by a transparent membrane called the conjunctiva, when the conjunctiva becomes inflamed for several reasons, whether due to an infection, allergic reactions, among others, the conjunctivitis disease occurs. On this occasion, Dr. José Santos, ophthalmologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma will give us more information on the subject.

Symptoms

The symptoms of conjunctivitis are:

• Eye redness
• Tearing
• Eye burning
• Secretion (sleep dust)
• Foreign body sensation

Visual quality is generally not affected, except when there are many secretions that cloud vision.

Types of conjunctivitis and causes

There are several types of conjunctivitis, among which are:

• Non-infectious conjunctivitis, caused by sun exposure, dry eyes, exposure to chemical substances or those caused by allergic reactions. These types of conjunctivitis are not contagious.
• Conjunctivitis associated with microorganisms, such as viral conjunctivitis, bacterial conjunctivitis, caused by fungi and/or parasites, are contagious and are passed from person to person through the air, others through the hands, and also by direct head-to-head contact (the famous greeting with a kiss), among others.

The type of conjunctivitis best known by the population is viral, which generally occurs in summer and is highly contagious.

Treatment

The treatment will depend on the origin of the conjunctivitis; if it is bacterial, a good antibiotic in drops will quickly solve the problem, if it is a viral conjunctivitis, the natural evolution of the disease should be waited and then treated with symptoms. Allergy conjunctivitis will be treated with anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic drugs, identifying the agent causing the allergy to remove it from the patient’s environment.

Recommendations

• In summer times it is advisable to avoid crowds of people
• Frequently wash your hands well, especially before touching your eyes
• Isolate yourself from others if you are going through a process of viral conjunctivitis
• In all conjunctivitis it is advisable not to share towels
• Viral conjunctivitis is generally self-limited, that is, it heals on its own; however, some strains of the virus cause a membranous conjunctivitis that requires specialized eye care. Do not self-diagnose, the only one who can make a correct diagnosis is your ophthalmologist.

Dr. José Santos
Ophthalmologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma