Conjunctivitis often occurs in both children and adults. Pathology is characterized by an inflammatory process that develops in the mucous membrane of the eye and at the same time gives the patient severe discomfort. Most people ask the same question in this situation: how much conjunctivitis is treated?
The conjunctiva: what is it
The conjunctiva is a transparent membrane that covers the front of the eyeball and lines the inner surface of the eyelid. If the conjunctiva is healthy, it will be transparent and smooth. It performs several important functions, the main of which include the following:
- Protects eyes from infection.
- Protects against injuries due to the ingress of small particles of dust.
- Helps to form tears.
Thanks to a healthy conjunctiva, the eyeball can fully move. The shell contains a huge number of small glands, which are responsible for the production of tears. In this case, the membrane is completely penetrated by small vessels. If there is an inflammatory process, the conjunctiva begins to redden very quickly.
Symptoms of the disease
Regardless of what form the disease has, conjunctivitis is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Tears begin to stand out intensely.
- A person does not tolerate harsh light.
- There is a feeling that sand or some foreign object of small size has got into the eye.
- The surface of the eye turns red and inflamed.
- The eyelids begin to swell greatly, then they turn red.
- Discharge appears in the eyes, which will depend on the form of pathology. It can be pus or clear mucus.
- After sleep, the eyelids are most often glued together due to the large number of secretions.
Depending on the symptoms, you can answer how much conjunctivitis is treated in a particular case.
Bacterial inflammation
In the presence of a bacterial inflammatory process, the duration of the disease on average does not exceed seven days. Very rarely, noticeable improvements occur within two or three weeks. A huge role is played by the provocateur of the inflammatory process, as well as the state of human immunity. Bacterial conjunctivitis can be triggered by:
- staphylococci;
- pneumococci;
- gonococci.
Epidermal staphylococcus
This bacterium is most often found, and it is it that causes the development of conjunctivitis. The bacterium lives in the microflora of the human eye, and while the immune system is greatly weakened, it makes itself felt. In almost all cases, staphylococci become the cause of the development of pathology. A characteristic feature of the disease are eyelids glued together due to pus. At this time, staphylococcal conjunctivitis is the easiest to cure.
On a note! In the presence of a bacterial type of eye disease, it is necessary to rinse as often as possible with a variety of antiseptic solutions.
Pneumococcal infection
Conjunctivitis caused by pneumococci proceeds, as a rule, in acute form. The main symptoms include the following:
- eyelids swell very much;
- high body temperature rises;
- purulent films of whitish color are formed.
If the pathology is of moderate severity, then it can be cured in two weeks.
Gonococcal conjunctivitis
This type of inflammation is considered the most severe. Children most often become infected with them during passage through the birth canal. For adults, there are a lot of options for infection, but the main one can be called contact-household.
You need to seek help from a specialist immediately after the first signs have appeared, because pathology can even lead to loss of vision. The duration of the disease will vary depending on the degree of course and the stage at which the patient went to the doctor. Also, how correctly the therapy was selected, how much conjunctivitis is treated.
Chlamydial conjunctivitis
Chlamydia can be called a fairly common cause. This type of disease occurs in about 14% of all people suffering from inflammation of the lining of the eyeball. The patient can become infected at any age. The first signs of infection will become noticeable 10-14 days after chlamydia enters the ocular membrane.
At first, the inflammatory process develops only in one eye, the second is affected a little later. In order to completely get rid of the pathology caused by chlamydia, it is necessary to undergo a two-week course of treatment.
Important! A doctor should be consulted immediately after the first symptoms of the inflammatory process appear in the eye.
Viral type conjunctivitis
A similar type of disease is also common enough. In most cases, it occurs as a complication after a cold or SARS. The main features include the following:
- pain while swallowing;
- coughing;
- high body temperature.
At the same time, you can observe symptoms such as:
- noticeable redness of the eyes;
- eyelids begin to swell strongly;
- mucous discharge without pus is formed in the eyes.
In most cases, the viral pathology goes away on its own. Many people wonder how much viral conjunctivitis is treated. The duration of this process can reach three weeks. After the body's immunity is at least slightly strengthened, the condition of the mucous membrane of the eye will return to normal.
In order to significantly speed up the healing process, the patient should take special medications. Most often, in the presence of a herpetic inflammatory process, additional drugs are prescribed. In this case, it will directly depend on antiviral agents how long conjunctivitis is treated.
Allergic conjunctivitis
In this case, the cause of the disease is a person’s contact with a particular allergen. Rarely, chronic fatigue, which was provoked by prolonged work of a visual nature, becomes the cause. Pathology is not transmitted to others.
On a note! In children, this type of conjunctivitis can be caused by obstruction of the lacrimal canal. In this regard, if you notice a child’s signs of an inflammatory process in the eye, you should immediately consult a specialist.
Therapy of allergic conjunctivitis is quite simple. The main goal is to remove or minimize contact with the allergen, as well as reduce eye strain. Be sure to wash your eyes every day with high-quality solutions of antiseptics. Parents are interested in: “How much conjunctivitis is treated in children?” Therapy will take a maximum of two weeks if there are no complications.
Rare forms of the disease. Traumatic conjunctivitis
This article discusses the most common forms of the disease, but you can come across other manifestations of conjunctivitis. We will talk about them further.
A similar form of the disease develops if a foreign body enters the mucous membrane of the eye. In order to make the symptoms less pronounced, you should immediately contact an ophthalmologist. The specialist first drops an anesthetic into the eye, then he removes a foreign body and determines how many days conjunctivitis is treated in an individual case. In the case of post-traumatic conjunctivitis, inflammation of the eye begins, mucopurulent discharge appears. For their treatment, it is customary to use an antibiotic.
Morax-Axenfeld conjunctivitis
This form of the disease is considered chronic, sluggish, but the patient may constantly complain of itching in the corners of the eyes, which is difficult to tolerate. For treatment, a solution of zinc sulfate is used. Regardless of how many days this type of conjunctivitis is treated, after recovery, it is necessary to further prevent relapse, the duration of which is about two weeks.
Epidemic Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis
This disease was first recorded in North, then in West Africa in 1969. The main reason for the development of pathology is picornavirus. It can only be transmitted by contact. First, the inflammatory process begins to develop in one eye. The defeat of the second occurs after two days. Local symptoms of the disease develop along with common symptoms:
- migraine;
- tracheitis;
- severe malaise;
- bronchitis;
- fever.
The first symptoms become noticeable about two weeks after infection, and how many days are treated for conjunctivitis in adults depends on them in many ways. To make an accurate diagnosis, you need to consult an ophthalmologist, an infectious disease specialist. Antiviral drugs are used for treatment. At the same time, topical antiallergic therapy is desirable. The chosen type of treatment for conjunctivitis of the eyes and how many days this disease is treated are related things.
Dry conjunctivitis
Pathology occurs due to disturbances in the work of the lacrimal glands. Most often found in older women. There can be several reasons for the development of the disease: old age, exposure to a chemical nature, burn. At the same time, you can notice an insufficiently abundant film. Sometimes the dry type of conjunctivitis is accompanied by a strong inflammatory process in the eyelids. If you do not start treating the disease, then the symptoms will develop over several months. As a therapy, it is customary to use local lubricants.
In the event that some drugs cause allergic reactions in the patient, then for the treatment you need to use those products that do not contain preservatives.
Duration of illness in childhood
It is very important for parents how much conjunctivitis is treated in a child. Just like in an adult, the duration of the disease will depend on its type:
- The viral inflammatory process in children lasts an average of 5-7 days. In the presence of a severe form, the recovery period increases to 2-3 weeks.
- It is difficult and long for children to endure herpetic conjunctivitis. The duration of the disease is at least two weeks.
- A purulent form of the disease is treated for a very long time in childhood. In some cases, the treatment period may stretch for two months. The recovery period will differ depending on which pathogen initially provoked the appearance of the inflammatory process.
- In childhood, adenoviral conjunctivitis easily and quickly proceeds.
- It takes a long time to treat those forms of conjunctivitis that were caused by diphtheria bacillus, meningococci, and gonococci. Recovery, as a rule, occurs not earlier than two months after the beginning of the development of the pathological process.
- How many days conjunctivitis is treated in children depends on the form of the disease. Other forms of bacterial eye damage in children can be cured in 3-5 weeks.
- The inflammatory process that arose due to the ingestion of chlamydia is treated in childhood for 10-21 days. The duration in this case will depend entirely on how strong the child's immunity is.
- Treatment of an allergic form of conjunctivitis is very time consuming. Sometimes it can take years. At the same time, regular periods of exacerbation will be constantly replaced by remissions of different durations.
The duration of treatment for the disease in children is not much different from how much conjunctivitis is treated in adults. Conjunctivitis is a rather complex disease, in the presence of which it is impossible to self-medicate. When the first symptoms appear, you must definitely seek help from a specialist.