Prevention of blepharitis in children includes the fact that the child must comply with all hygiene standards. For example, use only your things, such as a towel, a mug, and so on. Never rub your eyes (touch them) with dirty hands. It is also not recommended to use someone else's eye drops. If someone from the family members previously had this disease, then all his clothes should be separately. Even after recovery, you can not lie on the pillow on which the patient lay.
Causes
Often blepharitis develops when the eye is affected by a staph bacteria. Microorganisms begin to multiply under the following factors:
- Affection of the skin of the eyelids with a tick (demodicosis). With reduced immunity, the parasite penetrates the eyelids, causing demodectic blepharitis.
- Eye strain. Usually it is a companion of far-sighted children who do not wear correction glasses. Discomfort occurs due to regular eye strain, eyes get tired, the child rubs his eyelids. So the infection gets into the eyes, and blepharitis can form.
- Increased eye sensitivity to allergens. The main irritants are wool, dust, cosmetics, and pollen from flowers. Allergic blepharitis can cause inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes. Also, the manifestation of an allergy provokes cholecystitis, gastritis or diabetes.
- Infection through the lymph or bloodstream. The source of infection are carious formations, chronic tonsillitis and some other ailments.
- Parasitic infection.
- Violation of the rules of hygiene.
- Physical and psychoemotional overwork.
- Hypothermia.
- Weakened immunity.
- Helminthic invasion.
- Anemia.
- Atmospheric phenomena.
In order to timely cure blepharitis in a child, it is necessary to establish the cause that caused the development of this disease. This will help to eliminate the influence of a harmful factor, as well as prevent the occurrence of possible complications.
Symptoms
The common and most common symptoms of blepharitis in children, a photo of which is not attached due to aesthetic considerations, are swelling and redness of the eyelids, burning and itching, as well as the development of various inflammatory or infectious processes. With blepharitis, photosensitivity of the eyes is noted, they become tired, in some cases the child may even have a photophobia. Since the manifestations of the disease can occur due to ciliary follicles, the most characteristic symptom of blepharitis in children is a change in the eyelashes: they can fall out and discolor, as well as wrong to grow. The baby can often rub his eyes, and in the morning they can stick together from the discharge that has appeared.
Symptoms of this disease have some distinctive features:
- With the scaly form of blepharitis in children, small greasy, seborrheic scales resembling dandruff can appear on the eyelid.
- If blepharitis bothers a child for a long time, it can go into a meibomian form, in which a large number of grayish-red bubbles appear. Over time, these small bubbles can open and become covered with foamy secretions.
- With ulcerative blepharitis, ulcers can form on the eyelids, covered with a fairly dense crust.
Diagnostics
Diagnosis of blepharitis is very simple. It involves the presentation of a complete picture of the disease and the collection of anamnesis. To find out more about the causes of the illness of the child, a general examination of the patient will be required. Diagnostics includes the following activities:
- External examination of eyeballs and eyelids. They should be without redness and swelling.
- An examination called biomicroscopic. It helps to carefully examine the entire structure of the eyeball.
- Additional examinations to check for refraction.
- If there are suggestions that the eyelids were hit by a tick, then you need to take a few eyelashes. They are needed to check for the presence of the same tick.
After identifying the symptoms and treating blepharitis in children, a photo of which can be found on stands in ophthalmologic clinics, they begin a course of therapy.
Drug treatment
Drug therapy in children with an infectious eye disease such as blepharitis should be a set of measures aimed at eliminating the root cause, strengthening the body, and preventing pathological changes in the eyes.
The basis for the success of the therapy used for blepharitis is, of course, the observance of hygiene rules, which during the exacerbation period consist of regular washing of the eyes (washing off suppurations and crusts) with cotton swabs moistened with some antiseptic solution, including decoctions of chamomile flowers and calendula
Ointments
Special drug therapy in children is based primarily on the use of antibacterial ointments, namely:
- hydrocortisone ointment;
- furacilin ointment ;
- tetracycline ointment;
- sulfonamide ointment.
Drops
To enhance the antibacterial effect of the above ointments, doctors recommend simultaneously using similar antibacterial eye drops, among which the following can be noted:
- Sulfacyl Sodium;
- "Levomycetin drops";
- "Myromistin drops";
- "Albucid".
Also apply ...
Separately, you should focus on the method of therapy for blepharitis, which is a consequence of demodecosis. If this pathology is detected in a child, it is recommended to treat the edges of the eyelids with antiseptic drugs and after this treatment, apply zinc-ichthyol ointment to the eyelid. In addition, daily instillations of eye drops on an alkaline basis and washing with tar soap are prescribed.
When carrying out drug therapy for blepharitis in a child, the use of a complex of vitamins (vitamins C, A, E) is always recommended to maintain the general condition. Along with this, the daily diet of the child needs to be supplemented (enriched) with useful products.
An important role in recovery is played by the state of the child’s immune system, so sometimes the attending physician decides on the appointment of immunostimulating drugs. It should be noted that in some cases the prescribed drug therapy for blepharitis in children may not give immediate results, but this does not mean at all that the therapeutic effect does not occur. Parents need to be patient and clearly follow the doctor's recommendations.
Alternative treatment
The use of folk remedies and methods for the general treatment of blepharitis in children helps to achieve greater efficiency, alleviate the general condition of the child and prevent the flow of the disease into a chronic form. It should be noted that folk remedies can be used only after consulting with your doctor, however, like all other medications.
Since blepharitis affects mainly the edges of the eyelids, it is therefore recommended to rub and massage the affected areas with various alternative medicines, including the following:
- corn oil;
- freshly squeezed aloe juice;
- rose oil;
- Burr oil.
In addition to lubricating the affected eyelids, it is recommended to wash the eyes up to several times a day with medicinal folk tinctures, including:
- a decoction of chamomile flowers, calendula, sage leaves and eucalyptus;
- brewed rose petals;
- a solution obtained by digesting a bulb in half a liter of water with honey;
- a decoction of one teaspoon of thyme, brewed in a glass of boiling water;
- a mixture of separately brewed green and black teas with a spoonful of grape wine.
A variety of lotions with various folk remedies have a good therapeutic effect in blepharitis in children. Among the most popular, the following can be distinguished:
- lotions of cottage cheese wrapped in gauze;
- lotions of pulp of crushed clover flowers. In addition, when grinding, you can squeeze a sufficient amount of juice, which can also be used to bury the eyes of a child with blepharitis;
- effective is imposing on the eyelids of fresh mashed basil leaves;
- lotions of dry propolis (5g) mixed with petroleum jelly.
Prevention
Prevention of blepharitis is a strict observance of basic hygienic rules. For example, a child should have its own towel, hats, and especially a handkerchief. The child should not rub his eyes with dirty hands and generally touch them. Hands should be washed as often as possible, especially when playing outside and in contact with pets. It is also undesirable to use other people's eye drops for a child, since bacteria that provoke eye diseases can remain in the container.
If one of the family members has demodectic blepharitis, this person’s personal belongings should be removed from other household items of other people and, most importantly, children living in the house. Even after the patient recovers, you should not lie on his pillow so as not to become infected.
If possible, protect your child from contact with allergens. Take measures to strengthen immunity through hardening and the use of vitamins. In the presence of any chronic diseases, prevent their occurrence. All of the above methods will help significantly reduce the development of the disease, as well as eliminate the possibility of the transition of blepharitis to a more complex form.