Spring catarrhal conjunctivitis

Vernal catarrhal conjunctivitis is a very common eye disease in daily life. It often occurs in pre-pubertal adolescents. It gets its name because it occurs in spring and disappears on its own in autumn. The treatment of this disease usually falls into three major misunderstandings: there are specific drugs for treating spring catarrhal conjunctivitis, hormone eye drops, and spring catarrhal conjunctivitis is a chronic disease. These misunderstandings will make the condition worse, so special attention needs to be paid.

1. Spring catarrhal conjunctivitis

Vernal catarrhal conjunctivitis mostly occurs in prepubertal adolescents. It occurs in the spring, disappears on its own in the autumn and winter, and recurs in the spring of the following year, and this cycle continues for several years. The main symptoms are itchy eyes, which can even be extremely itchy, and may be accompanied by photophobia, tearing and a foreign body sensation. In life, some patients and their families still have some misunderstandings about the treatment of spring catarrhal conjunctivitis, which not only delays the disease but also causes certain psychological pressure.

2. Misunderstandings in the treatment of spring catarrhal conjunctivitis

Myth 1

There are specific medicines for the treatment of spring catarrhal conjunctivitis. At present, there is no specific medicine for the treatment of spring catarrhal conjunctivitis. In theory, desensitization preparations targeting allergens can be used for desensitization, but there is currently no ideal standardized desensitization preparation. The main treatment method is still symptomatic treatment, alleviating symptoms and waiting for the patient to recover naturally after several years. Do not believe false advertisements that there are specific medicines to treat spring catarrhal conjunctivitis.

Myth 2

Hormonal eye drops have serious side effects and should never be used. Some parents of sick children refuse to use eye drops when they hear that they contain hormones. In fact, hormones have good therapeutic effects and functions for more severe spring catarrhal conjunctivitis that cannot be replaced by other drugs. For acute redness and itching of the eyes, it is often necessary to use hormones topically to control the inflammatory response. After the condition stabilizes, switch to milder antihistamines or other types of eye drops to continue treatment.

Myth 3

Spring catarrhal conjunctivitis is a chronic disease and you can just buy eye drops and use them yourself. The treatment methods for spring catarrhal conjunctivitis are different at different stages of the disease. Clinically, for more serious stages of inflammation, short-term local therapy is often used to quickly relieve symptoms and interrupt the inflammatory cycle; during the period of inflammation remission, treatment methods that strengthen the physical fitness and improve the immune status should be used. These all need to be selected by the doctor based on the condition of the eyes. It is not advisable to use the same eye drops locally for a long time.