Conjunctiva Emergency: The Pink Eye Basics
Seeing red? If you notice your eyes getting irritated, and you look in the mirror to find them swollen red, then you just might have bacterial pink eye. The layman’s term is pink eye, but you might also be familiar to the medical term for the condition: conjunctivitis.
Conjunctivitis 101
If you recall your younger years when you studied human anatomy in class and your professor pulled up a diagram of the human eye, there’s a part there that’s a thin membrane between the eyeball and the eyelid. That part’s called the conjunctiva. That’s the part that has the problem when you have bacterial pink eye.
You’ll know if conjunctivitis has set in if your eyes are swollen and red. You should also notice that you’re very teary eyed and feeling like there’s something in your eye. You get an itching or burning sensation that prompts you to keep rubbing your eyes—which you shouldn’t. And you might be a bit sensitive to light.
From Where and Where to?
Exactly where would you get conjunctivitis from and where should you head to for help? If you have bacterial conjunctivitis, which is pretty common, then the cause is obviously bacterial infection. There’s also viral pink eye the cause of which is likewise evident. You might also be experiencing the condition if you have dry eyes from too much wind and sun or too little function of your tear sacs. Of course, conjunctivitis can also accompany or be the effect of an allergy attack, or be brought about by chemical or fume exposure.
If the condition is caused by a virus, there is no immediate treatment for pink eye of that sort, and the concern is stopping its spread. Bacterial pink eye is similarly wildfire-like when it spreads, spurred on by poor hand-washing and other insufficient hygiene habits. Sharing any gadgets or objects used by a person with conjunctivitis can easily spread the condition too.
Pink Eye Treatment and What to Expect
For bacterial pink eye, the person afflicted with the condition can typically return to normal everyday functions a day after antibiotics have been used if the symptoms of the condition have started to disappear. Prescribed antibiotic usually does the trick.
Home remedies can often help alleviate the symptoms. Just always keep the eyes clean and prevent the condition from spreading and it’s bound to go away. As stated earlier, bacteria are easily dealt with by antibiotic ointments or eye drops, so be sure to apply some immediately if symptoms start showing.
There are situations where a simple irritation or infection of the conjunctiva can be more sever, and as such, normal treatment for pink eye might not be effective. If your other eye is blind or if you wear contacts or if you have an impaired immune system, seek professional help after applying the usual remedies.
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