SORE EYES , D O H Health Advisory

I have encountered a lot of people being infected with viral conjunctivitis. The following is a health advisory from the Department of Health. Hand hygiene (hand washing with soap and water or use of hand sanitizer, best is still 70 % isopropyl alcohol) is the basic precaution for all common diseases .

Sore Eyes is a term often used for viral conjunctivitis

Incubation period or time from exposure to onset of symptoms: 5 -12 days

Mode of Transmission

• Direct contact by one’s eyes with hands contaminated with eye secretions of an infected person.

• Touching of eyes with hands getting contact with surfaces, instruments, eye solutions, make-ups contaminated with the virus from an infected person.

• Entry of the virus through the eyes by swimming in poorly chlorinated pools.

Signs and Symptoms

• Begins in one eye and later affects both eyes.

• Watery to pus-like discharge.

• Redness of the eye with pain and/or itching sensation.

• Eyelids that are stuck together on awakening.

• In severe cases, pain of the eyes on exposure to sunlight and foreign-body solution.

Treatment

• There is no specific treatment during the acute phase (1-2 weeks).

• If eye discharge is profuse and pus-like or patient develops blurring of vision or severe pain, consultation with an ophthalmologist is advised.

Prevention

• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water.

• Minimize hand-to-eye contact.

• Use only own towels, eye drops, make-ups and applicators, sunglasses or eye glasses.

• Wear eye/sunglasses on a windy day to protect one’s eyes from foreign particles

• Avoid crowded places.

• Disinfect surfaces, doorknobs, counters, elevator buttons and hand rails with dilute bleach solution.

• Clothes, towels, pillow cases and anything else which may have come in contact with an infected person should be washed

Source:

HEALTH ADVISORY, National Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Department of Health