Acute conjunctivitis
The conjunctiva is a thin, transparent membrane that covers the entire front of the eyeball. When this tissue becomes inflamed, a very common eye disease occurs, known as conjunctivitis.
Acute conjunctivitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, and allergens. This disease should be treated as soon as possible to calm its symptoms and prevent it from becoming a recurring condition.
Acute conjunctivitis
The conjunctiva is a thin, transparent membrane that covers the entire front of the eyeball. When this tissue becomes inflamed, a very common eye disease occurs, known as conjunctivitis.
Acute conjunctivitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, and allergens. This disease should be treated as soon as possible to calm its symptoms and prevent it from becoming a recurring condition.
What is acute conjunctivitis?
Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, a thin, transparent tissue that covers the white part of the eyeball and the inner area of the eyelids.
When the conjunctiva becomes inflamed, the capillaries it contains dilate and become more visible. This causes the most characteristic symptom of this disease: Red eyes.
Depending on the evolution of the conjunctivitis, the inflammation can be acute or chronicle. Acute conjunctivitis is one that starts suddenly and progresses rapidly until disappearing.
By contrast, chronic conjunctivitis is one that becomes recurrent over time and, in most cases, this inflammation is of allergic origin.
Acute conjunctivitis usually manifests itself through the following symptoms:
- Ocular redness
- Crying eyes.
- Accumulation of legañas on the eyelids.
- Yellowish or whitish eye secretions.
- Itch.
- Sensitivity to light.
- Sensation of having a foreign body inside the eye.
- Eye pain
- Inflammation of the eyelids.
Conjunctivitis can affect one or both eyes at the same time. Despite being an alarming condition, acute inflammation of the conjunctiva generally does not wreak havoc on eye health.
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Several types of acute conjunctivitis according to its cause:
Acute viral conjunctivitis
It is usually caused by adenoviruses, a family of viruses very similar to those that cause colds. This type of conjunctivitis is highly contagious and can be accompanied by runny nose and flu discomfort.
La viral conjunctivitis can be transmitted through droplets from the cough or sneeze of infected people. Contact lenses, towels, and pillows can also be a channel of infection.
Acute bacterial conjunctivitis
La bacterial conjunctivitis can be caused by pneumococci, streptococci, haemophilus influenza, and staphylococci. Contact of the conjunctiva with any of these bacteria triggers an infection that must be treated with antibiotics.
Bacterial conjunctivitis it is highly contagious and it can be spread through eye contact with dirty hands. Most of these conjunctivitis are acute in nature.
Acute allergic conjunctivitis
This inflammation occurs when the eye comes into contact with an allergen such as pollen, dust, fungi, bushes, among others. When this happens, the immune system overreacts by increasing the release of histamine in the body.
La allergic conjunctivitis it is usually chronic and should be treated with antihistamines. This type of condition can be accompanied by other allergic symptoms such as rhinitis or urticaria.
Diagnosis
To diagnose acute conjunctivitis it is necessary to go to the ophthalmologist to thoroughly examine the eyes and determine the origin of the disease. In addition to the eye examination, it is also recommended and sometimes necessary to carry out a conjunctival scraping to know the cause of the conjunctivitis.
If the conjunctivitis is allergic and its cause is unknown, it is important to go to the allergist who, by conducting allergy tests, can help us elucidate the origin. Treatment for allergies may vary depending on its cause and it is usually preventive in nature.
Treatment of acute conjunctivitis
Treatment of acute conjunctivitis should be prescribed by an ophthalmologist and may vary depending on the cause of the disease.
Acute conjunctivitis can be treated as follows:
- La acute bacterial conjunctivitis it deals with antibiotic eye drops that help fight bacteria. These eye drops are sold with a prescription.
- La allergic conjunctivitis it is treated with artificial tears and antihistamine eye drops. Some patients may need to take oral allergy medications to prevent chronic allergic conjunctivitis.
- La viral conjunctivitis It usually heals on its own over the days and without the need for treatment. Over-the-counter pain relievers are sometimes prescribed to ease symptoms.
During acute conjunctivitis it is very important to keep your eyes clean and avoid the accumulation of secretions, blemishes and crusts on the eyelashes. We recommend cleaning the eyes with physiological saline five times a day.
If the conjunctivitis is very itchy and painful, it can be applying cold compresses to the eyes to calm these symptoms. Also, it is important not to rub your eyes or scratch to prevent the condition from worsening.
The use of contact lenses or lenses is not recommended during acute conjunctivitis. Once the inflammation has stopped, it is recommended to buy a new pair of lenses and discard the old one. This prevents acute conjunctivitis from becoming a recurrent infection.
