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Ms. PT (30 years old, living in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City) said that her whole family had just contracted pink eye. Her 22-month-old daughter was infected by her uncle, a student at a university in Ho Chi Minh City. Her uncle was also infected by a classmate. After the child contracted pink eye, she continued to infect her parents.
22 month old girl with pink eye
"The first day, my eyes had a slight pain, turned pink, watered a lot and had a lot of discharge. A few days later, my eyes started to get redder and swollen. I have had pink eye many times but never had it been this bad," said Ms. T.
She used saline to wash her eyes and bought eye drops at the pharmacy to use 3-4 times a day. Luckily, after a few days, the baby's condition improved and the symptoms of pink eye were gone. As for Ms. T. and her husband, the disease only subsided after about a week.
Similarly, Ms. HL said that in recent days, her 12-month-old child has been constantly running mucus and rubbing his eyes. Although he has not gone to school yet, he only goes to the park to play every day. She is afraid that he has pink eye, so she uses eye drops for him.
Doctor Nguyen Thanh Luan, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the number of cases of pink eye coming to the hospital for examination has shown signs of increasing. On average, each doctor examines 15-20 cases of pink eye.
Similarly, at Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC), in recent weeks the number of children coming to see a doctor for pink eye has begun to show signs of increasing.
At the Ophthalmology Department and Pediatric Clinic, Saigon South International General Hospital, there were also scattered patients coming for examination due to pink eye.
Red eyes with lots of discharge is one of the typical signs of pink eye.
Causes of pink eye and symptoms
On August 25, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Luan said there are many causes of conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, of which viruses are the most common cause of the disease.
Due to virus : In case of red eyes caused by virus, symptoms such as watery eyes, clear discharge, swollen eyelids, and irritation are common. Conjunctivitis caused by virus can be easily spread through direct contact with the patient's tears.
Bacterial : Usually caused by Haemophilus Influenzae, Staphylococcus,... Symptoms include irritation, watery eyes, swollen eyelids, yellow or green discharge. A person can get pink eye if they come into contact with the tear fluid or objects contaminated with the tear fluid of an infected person.
Due to allergies : It is often difficult to determine the cause of allergies, it can be due to pet hair, drugs, pollen, dust, etc. Symptoms of the disease are usually itching and watery eyes in both eyes, swollen eyelids, and may be accompanied by allergic rhinitis. However, allergic conjunctivitis is not contagious.
How to care for people with pink eye?
According to Dr. Luan, patients need to supplement adequate nutrients in their daily diet such as protein, fiber, fat, and starch to strengthen the immune system. Patients should avoid eating too sparingly to avoid the body from becoming weak. Actively eat fruits to supplement vitamins such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, etc.
Keeping your eyes and personal hygiene clean every day is a way to prevent pink eye during the epidemic season.
Get adequate rest and sleep. During illness, it is best to avoid using electronic devices as much as possible. Do not rub or press your eyes to avoid damaging the cornea.
Use the correct type and dosage of medication as prescribed by your doctor. Depending on each person's condition, your doctor may prescribe different types of medication such as anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, artificial tears, eye drops, etc.
Use eye drops correctly: Be careful not to let the tip of the dropper touch your eye. For ointment or gel eye drops, apply about 1 cm along the lower lash line, for liquid eye drops, use 1-2 drops.
To easily monitor the progression of the disease, you should have regular check-ups according to your doctor's appointment. If you use the medicine and your eyes become more swollen, more painful or bleed, you should contact your doctor immediately for timely treatment.
In case of abnormal symptoms, patients should see an ophthalmologist for timely examination and treatment to avoid serious complications.
In particular, patients should absolutely not self-treat with word-of-mouth or folk methods such as dripping breast milk, applying onion bulbs, steaming betel leaves, etc. In addition, without a doctor's prescription, patients should not buy medicine to treat themselves because it can lead to unwanted consequences.
Prevent pink eye
To effectively prevent pink eye, Dr. Luan recommends that people should pay attention to the following:
- Maintain eye hygiene and personal hygiene daily.
- Clean eyes daily with 0.9% saline solution.
- Do not share towels, each person should have their own towels.
- Avoid getting chemicals such as shower gel, shampoo, etc. in your eyes.
- Use dust and wind protection glasses when going out.
- Have a diet that provides adequate nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals in fruit.
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