Dr. Komarovsky on conjunctivitis

There are no children who never had conjunctivitis. No matter how carefully parents treat hygiene, it is impossible to raise a child and never deal with the treatment of this unpleasant eye disease. About why there is inflammation of the eyes, what factors contribute to this process and how to treat the baby, says the famous doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky.

Conjunctivitis - inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye. It is usually caused by viruses, but one fifth of all established diagnoses in children belong to bacterial mucosal lesions. Quite often, the disease is allergic, and is accompanied by a general allergy to anything. Occasionally, a child develops inflammation after a small injury to the eye, for example, if small solid dust particles get into it.

Symptoms are almost identical in all cases: red eyeball with veins, photophobia, pain in the eye when blinking, movement of the eyeball from side to side, tearing, sometimes in the corners of the affected eye pus accumulates. Sometimes there is a decrease in vision. Medical reference books and encyclopedias indicate that conjunctivitis is most dangerous for children with blue and bright eyes, as they are more sensitive to light. In almost all cases, the disease is highly contagious.

Why does a child have conjunctivitis. Dr. Evgeny Komarovsky raises such a question in his transmission.

In most cases, the disease is directly related to acute respiratory infections. viral infections, says Komarovsky. The fact is that many viruses that can enter the child’s body through the nasopharynx also feel great on the mucous membrane of the eyes, which are located nearby. It is they that cause viral conjunctivitis.

That is why throughout the world, except for Russia, perhaps, and some CIS countries, according to Komarovsky, ophthalmologists do not treat this eye disease. This is more the task of pediatricians and family doctors. The disease is serious, but you can’t call it purely ophthalmic. The only exceptions are very complex cases, but such conjunctivitis, according to the doctor, is, fortunately, a rarity.

Bacterial conjunctivitis occurs when pathogenic bacteria enter the mucous membrane of the eye. If viruses are mainly transmitted by airborne droplets, then bacteria are just the case when a child actively rubs his eyes, and even on the street, and even after playing in the sandbox. Or small rubbish got into his eye, he rubbed his eyes, as a result of a microtrauma, bacteria have hit the affected mucous membrane, which like this habitat no less than viruses.

Allergic conjunctivitis causes protein-antigen, which caused an inadequate reaction of the body, as well as a number of external factors - the presence of an allergen in the air, too dusty and polluted air, spraying toxic and toxic substances, household chemicals, perfumes.

Distinguishing one type of illness from another is not so easy, says Yevgeny Komarovsky, because the symptoms are almost the same.The parents themselves can help the doctor by giving a detailed account of what events preceded the onset of eye inflammation, what the baby ate, where he walked, what he played with, what he was ill with. If the whole family went to visit, and there the eyes began to weep, bought a new toy or washed T-shirts with underwear with new laundry detergent or conditioner, then the doctor is likely to diagnose Allergic Conjunctivitis.

If the parents of other children who attend the same group in kindergarten with your child, also complained about the red eyes of the toddlers, besides, the child showed signs of a runny nose, coughing and in general it looks like something is wrong, you can say about viral conjunctivitis.

If nothing new has appeared in the house, the laundry powder is the same, and all the other children from the child’s environment are completely healthy, and your children have red eyes and began to fester, then the child probably has a bacterial form of the disease.

Thus, parents can also determine the cause of the disease, but if this fails, it is better to consult a doctor, and it is advisable to take a call at home, because you should not forget that conjunctivitis is contagious enough if it is viral, and put other small clinics at risk there is no point.

According to Yevgeny Komarovsky, every kind of self-treatment is strictly prohibited if conjunctivitis, and even more purulent, has arisen in the newborn, as well as in children under one year old. The reason for going to a doctor should be such a disease, in which the improvement of the eyes is not observed for two days.

The doctor should be called and with photophobia, even if the redness of the eyeball looks insignificant and insignificant. With this symptom, the baby will squint, squint from the bright light, avoid rooms with sufficient lighting, may begin to ask to turn off the light and complain of eye pain that even daylight causes.

When it comes to common viral conjunctivitis caused by adenoviruses, says Yevgeny Olegovich, doctors cannot help with anything. Such inflammation of the eyes does not need treatment, because for 5-7 days the baby's body produces immunity and quite effectively copes with the inflammatory process. The exception is herpetic lesion of the organs of sight with herpes viruses. It proceeds hard, with the formation of bubbles on the eyelids, photophobia, pain.

Bacterial conjunctivitis requires antibiotic therapy, the benefit of drugs is now many, and you can always choose the most suitable for your baby, given his age and the severity of the inflammatory process. Komarovsky says that local antibiotics for this disease are very effective, and you should not be afraid if the instructions for drops or ointment indicate that the drug is not intended for children's use.

Manufacturers write this when there is insufficient research, and usually this antibiotic does not apply to children. Ophthalmologists do not exclude the prescription of just such drugs, because they know that when applied topically (in the eye), there will be no side effects, because the active substance from the eye is not going anywhere and will not begin to affect the body systemically.

Allergic conjunctivitis is the most difficult, because before treating such ailment, an allergen that caused inflammation must be found, otherwise the therapy simply will not produce any result. On the other hand, if an antigen is found and installed, treatment will be quick and simple — simply removing the irritant will suffice. If allergy has arisen on animal hair, then it is necessary to limit the contact of the baby with four-legged pets, if for household chemicals, remove the chemistry from home away and do the cleaning without it.

If you eliminate the allergen or it is not found, there are many different drugs to alleviate this condition. Komarovsky says that hormonal drops and ointments, which act faster than non-hormonal agents, are fully justified. Often, this treatment is combined with the ingestion of drugs for allergies, such as antihistamines, which the doctor will prescribe.

Saline can be purchased at the pharmacy, and you can do it yourself. Yevgeny Olegovich recommends taking a teaspoon of salt per liter of water for this. It is this solution will be the most beneficial effect on the mucous membrane of the eyes.

Folk remedies, which offer fans of alternative medicine, Komarovsky advises to use with great care, be sure to check with your own common sense. Tips to drip urine into the eye should not be considered at all seriously, says Yevgeny Olegovich. In viral conjunctivitis, there is generally no big difference what will be washed with the eye - tea brewing, chamomile decoction or pharmacy saline.

No even the most recommended herbal decoction can speed recovery from a disease caused by viruses. Conjunctivitis will pass only when the immunity develops protection. But with regard to bacterial eye disease, the beneficial properties of chamomile or tea leaves can be used for the benefit of the child.

However, Komarovsky warns parents against self-diagnosis and treatment, especially with folk remedies, because improper treatment or delayed therapy can cause irreversible changes in the functions of the eye - vision can decrease significantly, even to complete blindness.

• If a child visits the pool, it is better to buy special glasses to help him avoid contact of the delicate eyeball mucosa with chlorinated water. If, after all, the child returned from the pool with reddened eyes (this happens quite often), he needs to wash his eyes and nose with saline.

• Conjunctivitis is contagious in any form, especially adenoviral and herpetic varieties. At the time of treatment, Dr. Komarovsky advises not to attend kindergarten and school, public places where the child can contact with others. At home, it is better for the patient to select individual household items, dishes, linens and towels to protect the rest of the family and especially other children, if they are in this family. A certain period of quarantine for this disease does not exist, it is possible to return to visiting preschool and school institutions if there are no problems with eyes for 2-3 days.

• Instill preparations should be correct. With unilateral conjunctivitis, instillation is necessary in both eyes, because there is a high risk of transferring the infection from the diseased eye to the healthy one. Komarovsky advises moms and dads to learn how to properly drip into the eyes, delaying the lower eyelid. It is in this lower conjunctival sac that the drops must fall. At the same time it is impossible to touch the eyedropper or dispenser of the century itself. Drops before instillation need to warm in your hand to body temperature. It is necessary to begin the procedure with a healthy eye, so the risk of placing the infection in it is significantly reduced.

• The best prevention of eye inflammation is to teach your child to touch his eyes less, rub them, especially on the street, and observe eye hygiene. It is important to teach your baby not to overstrain his eyesight, not to sit long in front of a computer monitor, and not to watch TV too close to the screen.These systematic measures will be effective in preventing bacterial inflammation. It is more difficult to save children from viral, but standard prophylaxis should be to increase the child’s immunity.

To do this, he must go in for sports, eat healthy and enriched with vitamins food, walk a lot, breathe fresh air, lead an active lifestyle. Prevention of allergic inflammation as such does not exist, because no one is insured against the allergen. But even here, the probability and severity of the disease will largely be determined by the state of the immune defense of the baby. The healthier a family leads, the less likely it is to develop the disease.

Why with conjunctivitis often otitis, look in the transfer of Dr. Komarovsky.