Types of Conjunctivitis

Children contract a few medical problems that strike fear in the administrators and faculty of the schools they attend. One of these is conjunctivitis. Any time a student comes to school with an illness that is contagious, other students and teachers are sure to become infected. And the parents of the students who are not infected are going to be concerned and demanding that the school do something. Often there isn t anything that can be done because the illness is already spreading. When a person has conjunctivitis, the conjunctiva or transparent membrane that lines the eyelids and the outer eye up to the edge of the cornea becomes inflamed. This is caused by an infection or an allergy.

Infectious conjunctivitis is highly contagious. It is spread by touching. The germ is on contaminated fingers, towels, and whatever else a person with the disease has touched. When the child or adult has infectious conjunctivitis, the white part of the eye turns red. This has given it the name of pink eye. There will be a discharge of yellowish pus from the affected eye. Overnight, this discharge will form a crust. The eye also feels gritty.

There are two types of infectious conjunctivitis. One is caused by bacteria. The other is due to a virus. When caused by bacteria, both eyes are usually affected and the discharge of pus is very heavy. If the conjunctivitis is caused by a virus, it may be limited to one eye only and the discharge is very light. Parents who suspect a child has conjunctivitis should immediately take precautions to avoid spreading the infection. Be sure the child has a separate towel and washcloth. Encourage the child to avoid touching the eye. This will be difficult, as the eye will feel gritty. So insist on hand washing immediately following touching the eye. Parents do need to wash their hands if they have touched the child s eye. Parents also need to consult a physician. If the conjunctivitis is a bacterial infection, medical treatment consists of bathing the affected eye or eyes with warm water to wash away any discharge. Then either eye drops or a topical ointment is applied to the eye. Viral infections usually go away on their own.

The form of conjunctivitis that is caused by an allergy is triggered by exposure to the allergen such as pollen. And if pollen is an allergen, this will be more severe during the hay fever season. In allergic conjunctivitis, the white of the eye is red and itches but no pus forms. If the person can identify the allergen, this form of conjunctivitis can often be avoided as a physician can often recommend an antihistamine medication or an over the counter drug that will relieve the inflammation. Another form of conjunctivitis, called ophthalmia neonatorum, may be present in babies up to three days old and is sometimes caught from the mother s birth canal. Ophthalmia neonatorum can be serious and will be treated with some type of antibiotic eye drops.