Conjunctivitis is back. A new strain of adenovirus, which emerged this monsoon season, is spreading across the city rapidly. According to ophthalmologists, conjunctivitis can be viral or bacterial. In either case, it is highly contagious. Dr Nandini Ray, senior consultant ophthalmologist, said if an affected person touches an object and the same is not sanisitised and is used/touched by others, in all likelihood, he/she will be infected.
On the other hand, once infected, the person(s) must visit a doctor. “Without proper medication, in several cases it has been seen that it can take more than 14 days to cure. In some cases, it can get worse. The virus may affect the cornea and this could lead to more serious damage,” said Rupak Roy, deputy medical director, Shankar Netralaya, Kolkata.
According to Dr Nandini Ray, there are several ways to tackle the infection.
- Since the infection spreads through touching, one must use hand sanitisers, especially in public places.
- In case of itching or irritation, wash your eyes with lukewarm water with a pinch of salt in it. It would soothe your eyes and clean them too.
- Avoid touching your eyes.
- Using eye drops can be of huge help in preventing infection.
Once infected, keeping the eyes clean should be the top priority. According to Dr Rupak Roy, one must avoid self-medication and over-the-counter medication. “In many cases, we have seen that patients are given steroid-based eye drops over the counter. While it is needed in some cases, these drops could be harmful too and hence one must consult an ophthalmologist,” he added.
Common symptoms are watery eyes, redness, irritation and swollen eyes. Once these symptoms are spotted, a patient must do the following…
- He/she must visit the doctor immediately and follow the prescribed medications and instructions.
- One may use light sunglasses at home, to avoid touching the eyes (even) accidentally.
- Boil water and cool it and then use the same to clean and compress your eyes.
- Used tissue papers must be disposed of properly and wash handkerchiefs after using the same to clean eyes. Do not just keep them anywhere because that’s how the infection spreads.
- Once infected, persons should avoid going to public places as they can infect others.