What is conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis is a disease caused by bacteria, viruses, etc., and this disease is divided into three categories, including acute, subacute and chronic. In addition, conjunctivitis is very harmful. It not only causes blurred vision, but also causes heavy eyelids. Therefore, conjunctivitis requires timely medical treatment and treatment. So what exactly is conjunctivitis?

In fact, conjunctivitis is not scary. You should wash your hands frequently and avoid rubbing your eyes at will. You should also pay attention to cleaning and disinfecting after going out. In addition, it is best to avoid swimming in crowded public places, so as to avoid this type of disease. So what exactly is conjunctivitis?

What is conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis is a general term for the inflammatory response of conjunctival tissue caused by external and body-specific factors. Although conjunctivitis itself does not have a serious impact on vision, when the inflammation spreads to the cornea or causes complications, it can lead to visual impairment. According to the condition and course of conjunctivitis, it can be divided into three categories: acute, subacute and chronic; according to the cause, it can be divided into bacterial, viral, chlamydial, fungal and allergic; according to the characteristics of conjunctival lesions, it can be divided into acute follicular conjunctivitis, chronic follicular conjunctivitis, membranous and pseudomembranous conjunctivitis, etc.

Clinical manifestations

Conjunctival congestion and increased secretions are common characteristics of various conjunctivitis. The inflammation can occur in one eye or both eyes simultaneously/sequentially.

1. Symptoms: foreign body sensation in the affected eye, burning sensation, heavy eyelids, increased secretions. When the lesion involves the cornea, photophobia, tearing and varying degrees of vision loss may occur.

2. Physical signs

The signs of conjunctivitis are an important basis for the correct diagnosis of various conjunctivitis.

(1) Conjunctival congestion The characteristic of conjunctival vascular congestion is that the closer to the dome, the more obvious the congestion. The blood vessels are distributed in a reticular manner and are bright red in color. They can extend into the periphery of the cornea to form corneal pannus. The congestion disappears quickly after the application of epinephrine. (2) Purulent discharge is more common in gonococcal conjunctivitis; mucopurulent or catarrhal discharge is more common in bacterial or chlamydial conjunctivitis, and often adheres firmly to the eyelashes, making it difficult to open the eyelids in the morning; watery discharge is usually seen in viral conjunctivitis. (3) Conjunctival chemosis Conjunctival inflammation causes conjunctival blood vessel dilation and exudation, leading to tissue edema. Because the bulbar conjunctiva and fornix conjunctiva tissues are loose, they bulge out significantly when edematous. (4) Subconjunctival hemorrhage is mostly in the form of dots or small patches. Epidemic hemorrhagic conjunctivitis caused by viruses is often accompanied by subconjunctival hemorrhage. (5) The papilla is a nonspecific sign of conjunctival inflammation and can be located on the palpebral conjunctiva or corneal limbus. It presents as a raised polygonal mosaic appearance with areas of hyperemia separated by pale grooves. (6) Follicles Follicles are yellow-white, smooth, round protrusions with a diameter of 0.5 to 2.0 mm. However, in some cases, such as chlamydial conjunctivitis, larger follicles may also appear. Viral conjunctivitis and chlamydial conjunctivitis are often accompanied by obvious follicle formation and are called acute follicular conjunctivitis or chronic follicular conjunctivitis. (7) Membrane and pseudomembrane Membrane is a cellulose exudate attached to the surface of the conjunctiva. Pseudomembranes are easy to peel off, while true membranes are not easy to separate. After forced peeling, the wound will bleed. The essential difference between the two lies in the difference in the degree of inflammatory response. The inflammatory response of true membrane is more severe. Corynebacterium diphtheriae causes severe membranous conjunctivitis; β-hemolytic streptococci, Klebsiella pneumoniae, gonococci, adenovirus, inclusion bodies, etc. can all cause membranous or pseudomembranous conjunctivitis. (8) Damage to scar matrix tissue is the histological basis of conjunctival scar formation. Early manifestations of conjunctival scarring include narrowing of the conjunctival fornix and subepithelial fibrosis of the conjunctiva. (9) Swollen preauricular lymph nodes Viral conjunctivitis is often accompanied by swollen preauricular lymph nodes. (10) Pseudoptosis is a mild ptosis caused by hypertrophy of the upper eyelid tissue due to cell infiltration or scar formation, which is more common in the late stage of trachoma. (11) Conjunctival granuloma is less common and can be seen in chronic inflammation caused by tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis and rickettsia.

treat

1. Local treatment: (1) Flushing the conjunctival sac. Its main function is to clean it. Commonly used solutions are normal saline, 2% to 3% boric acid solution, or 1:5000 to 1:10000 liters of mercuric (or potassium permanganate) solution. (2) Do not cover the affected eye. Conjunctivitis produces a lot of secretions. If you cover the affected eye, the secretions will not be easily discharged and will accumulate in the conjunctival sac. Covering the eye will also increase the temperature of the conjunctival sac, which is more conducive to the reproduction of bacteria and aggravates conjunctivitis. (3) Topical antibacterial drugs or antiviral eye drops should be used to select appropriate therapeutic drugs based on the etiological diagnosis. 0.5% to 1% silver nitrate is commonly used. When dropping eye drops, turn over the eyelids and drop the eye drops on the conjunctiva. Wait for a while after dropping the eyes and rinse with normal saline. Or use a cotton swab to dip a small amount of liquid medicine, apply it to the surface of the conjunctiva, and then rinse with saline.

2. Systemic treatment: For severe conjunctivitis, such as gonococcal conjunctivitis, trachoma, etc., systemic medication is required.

prevention

Conjunctivitis is mostly transmitted through contact, so it is recommended to wash hands frequently and avoid rubbing the eyes at will. It is recommended to wash your face with running water, and towels, handkerchiefs and other items should be kept separate from others and cleaned and disinfected frequently. Certain isolation measures should be taken for patients with infectious conjunctivitis, and they are not allowed to swim in public swimming areas. If conjunctivitis develops in one eye, the patient must be advised to protect the healthy eye from infection. Those who work in windy, dusty, and smoky environments should improve their environment and wear protective glasses to prevent conjunctivitis.

Regarding what conjunctivitis is, in fact, diseases like conjunctivitis are not serious diseases, but if not treated in time, it will also cause many complications, which will have a considerable impact on our eyesight. Therefore, in addition to paying attention to personal hygiene and keeping personal belongings separate from those of others, if you have a disease such as conjunctivitis, you should seek medical attention in a timely manner.