The summer heat, how to prevent red eyes

  Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of “pink eye” patients seen in the ophthalmology clinic, with a significant number of patients complaining of recent exposure to pink eye patients, or a history of swimming, or a history of wearing contact lenses. Patients mostly feel redness and swelling in both eyes or one eye, burning sensation, fear of light and tears, and the eyelids are often stuck with a lot of secretions (eye droppings) in the morning, which are not easy to open, which is a typical symptom of pink eye. Actively controlling the spread and prevalence of pink eye is currently one of the priorities of summer eye disease control.  Red eye, also known as fire eye, or acute congestive conjunctivitis, is an acute infectious eye disease. According to the different causes, can be divided into bacterial conjunctivitis and viral conjunctivitis two categories, their clinical symptoms are similar, but the prevalence and harm to viral conjunctivitis is heavy. The disease can occur throughout the year, and is more common in the spring and summer months. The reason for this is that the disease bacteria and viruses can easily multiply in the hot and humid environment in summer due to high temperature and rain, and people’s outdoor activities are relatively more frequent, so it is easy to form a wide spread. The disease often spreads widely in kindergartens, schools, hospitals, factories and other collective units, causing local epidemics.  The onset of red eye is rapid, with a certain incubation period, mostly 1-2 days, for both eyes at the same time or successively. Strongly contagious, from a few months of infants to eighty or ninety years old may develop. The epidemic is fast, after suffering from pink eye, often one person has the disease, within 1 to 2 weeks, resulting in the widespread spread of its range of activities of the population, regardless of sex and age can be infected. The most important way of transmission is by contact, most commonly by eye – hand – eye transmission. In addition, contact with the patient’s used towels, handkerchiefs, face washing utensils, door handles, computer keyboards, etc., or to the patient’s contact with the pool, bath and other places swimming, bathing, may be infected with the disease. Therefore, the prevention of pink eye, the same as the prevention of other infectious diseases, the key to control the source of infection, cut off the transmission route, specifically: 1, if found red-eye, should be promptly isolated, all utensils should be used separately, preferably after washing and disinfection.  2, to pay attention to hand hygiene. To develop a good habit of hand washing, do not rub your eyes with dirty hands.  3, when sick, in addition to active treatment, should go to public places less often, do not use shared towels, washbasins, etc..  Once you get pink eye, you must go to the hospital as soon as possible and actively treat it to prevent its complications, such as keratitis, iridocyclitis and other eye diseases, and widespread epidemics.  Treatment to do: 1, pay attention to keep the eye clean: due to the eye secretions, available saline or 2% boric acid solution to rinse the eyes, 2-3 times a day, or gently scrub with a wet sterile cotton swab. When the secretion is reduced, the rinsing should be stopped, because the rinsing can dilute the tears, thus reducing the bactericidal effect of tears and destroying the natural resistance.  2, local drug treatment: daytime antibiotic eye drops, according to the severity of the disease, the mild can be every 2-3 hours, the heavy can be half an hour, frequent eye drops to increase the effective concentration of drugs in the eye. Commonly used eye drops include levofloxacin eye drops, ofloxacin eye drops, tobramycin eye drops and acyclovir eye drops, hydroxybenzole eye drops, etc. If the acute stage can be considered to use antibiotic eye drops mixed with hormones, such as compound neomycin eye drops and compound tobramycin eye drops, in order to control its acute inflammation period and shorten the treatment time. It is not recommended to use antibiotic eye ointment preparations, because most patients with pink eye secretions increase significantly, and the use of eye ointment is not conducive to the accelerated exclusion of secretions, which is suspected of delaying the course of the disease.  3, diet pay attention to avoid spicy and stimulating products, try to do light diet, more rest, do not use too much eye, avoid light and heat, when going out can wear sunglasses, avoid the sun, wind, dust and other stimuli.  In short, red eye is a common summer disease, multi-morbidity, because of its strong contagious, and can cause other vision-impairing complications, the treatment must pay attention to, once found in a timely manner to the hospital examination and treatment.