8-year-old Ming Ming always says his eyes itch and he likes to blink and rub them. Sometimes his nose is uncomfortable and he sneezes repeatedly, and then his eyes itch, so he can’t help but rub them with his hands. His parents took him to many hospitals, but they all diagnosed him with allergic conjunctivitis and ordered a lot of eye medication, which was sometimes good and sometimes bad, but never cured. So, what is allergic conjunctivitis? Why does it take so long to heal? Allergic eye disease is one of the most common ocular diseases, of which allergic conjunctivitis is the most common type. According to statistics, more than 1% of the world’s population visits a doctor for allergic eye disease, and the proportion of allergic conjunctivitis is more than
In recent years, the incidence of allergic conjunctivitis has increased further due to the use of eye cosmetics, contact lenses, lack of air pollution and other factors. Usually, allergic conjunctivitis can be divided into mild (including seasonal and perennial allergic conjunctivitis, giant papillary conjunctivitis) and potentially blinding (atopic keratoconjunctivitis and spring keratoconjunctivitis). For ocular allergy in children, seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, springtime keratoconjunctivitis, atopic conjunctivitis, and perennial allergic conjunctivitis are most commonly seen, whereas giant papillary conjunctivitis is rare in children because it is often associated with a history of wearing corneal contact lenses. Allergic conjunctivitis is caused by an allergic reaction of the conjunctival mucosal tissue of the eye to a specific allergen. Allergens are substances that cause allergies, medically called allergens. These allergens enter the eye and bind to immunoglobulin E (IgE) on the mast cells of the conjunctiva, causing the mast cells to release histamines, which cause local dilation of small blood vessels and produce symptoms of redness, swelling, and itching. Allergens are usually classified as inhalational allergens (e.g., pollen, house dust, etc.), ingestive allergens (e.g., milk, fish and shrimp, etc.), contact allergens (e.g., dust mites, drugs, etc.), and inoculation allergens (e.g., vaccines, animal serum, etc.). The main clinical detections were concentrated in house dust (67%), spring pollen (63.4%), dust mites (58%), and fungi (70%), with food mainly shrimp and crab. Seasonal and weather factors can also affect allergic conjunctivitis, with symptoms worsening in hot and dry weather and less so in wet and cold weather. Other factors such as mental stress, infection, and cold stimulation can trigger the onset of allergic conjunctivitis or worsen the symptoms. The main manifestations of allergic conjunctivitis are itchy eyes, tearing, photophobia, foreign body sensation, recurrent eye redness, morning mucous-like discharge, sneezing, and runny nose, with symptoms such as itchy eyes (incidence of
Itchy eyes (incidence: 99%-100%) and foreign body sensation (incidence: 72%-80%) are the main symptoms, while infants and children have eye rubbing and tearing as the main symptoms. There are also children with allergic conjunctivitis with cough and general discomfort as the main symptoms. Parents should pay special attention to their children when they have these symptoms and visit the ophthalmologist to find out if allergic conjunctivitis has occurred. Currently, the first step in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis is to identify the allergen and remove it immediately, which usually gives good results. However, in most cases of allergic conjunctivitis, the exact allergen is not always identified, or the allergen is complex and not easily detected. The first step is to improve the living environment, especially the air quality or temperature of the home, in order to reduce the impact of allergens. Of course, the improvement of physical health, a regular lifestyle and a healthy diet can increase the body’s potential to fight allergy attacks and reduce and slow them down. Physical therapy includes cold compresses for the eyes, which can reduce the local temperature of the eyes, slow down the activity of allergy cells and reduce the release of allergy chemicals to reduce allergy symptoms. However, cold or ice water should not be used to flush the eyes directly and lower the local temperature of the eyes, as this may not only worsen allergy symptoms but may even cause infections to occur.