Conjunctivitis in infants

Many parents often face the fact that their child swims and watery eyes. When the baby wakes up, it can not open the stuck eyelids, its mucous membranes become inflamed. The child does not sleep well, becomes moody. The main reason for this problem is conjunctivitis.

Conjunctivitis can occur both in infants who have just left the maternity hospital, and in children who have long been at home. Very often this disease parents can confuse with a dacryocystitis in newborns or inflammation of the lacrimal sac, so it is necessary to know about the symptoms of conjunctivitis, so that not with further treatment.

How to treat such a pathology as dacryocystitis will tell this material.

What it is

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva.

Young parents sometimes do not take this disease seriously and try to cure it on their own without referring to a doctor. This is very dangerous, since the eyes of the baby can start to fester, there is a high probability of complications on the cornea.

Types of conjunctivitis:

1. Bacterial (purulent).Its appearance provokes staphylococci, streptococci, intestinal sticks, gonococci or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bacterial conjunctivitis can develop under the influence of one pathogen or several at once.
2. Viral.In this case, the causative agent is the herpes virus. This kind of conjunctivitis proceeds long enough, usually hitting only one eye. Bubbles appear on the eyelids.
3. Chlamydial.Conjunctivitis caused by chlamydia can affect one eye or both. Its acute manifestation with abundant pus usually falls on the fourteenth day after the birth of the child. If the child is premature, there is a risk of developing chlamydial conjunctivitis on the fourth day.
4. Allergic.It can occur as a reaction of a child's body to an allergen. Allergic conjunctivitis is painful in three stages: acute, subacute, chronic.
5. Autoimmune.Such conjunctivitis can be an independent disease or occur against the background of an acute respiratory viral infection. Conjunctiva blushes and swells, and swelling can appear on the eyelids. The child reacts sharply to the light, tears flow from the eyes. In the lower part of the conjunctiva, small vesicles can form.

Species of conjunctivitis

Causes

Breasts can be ill with conjunctivitis while respecting all hygiene rules, and even if the surrounding situation is completely sterile.Conjunctivitis may occur for various reasons.Its course depends on the nature of the pathogen.

The most common causes of conjunctivitis in newborns are:

• Reduced immunity;
• Transmission of bacteria from the mother's body;
• Infection through birth canals with chlamydia or gonorrhea;
• The mother has genital or oral herpes;
• Poor hygiene;
• Contact with eyes of debris, foreign objects.

The health of the child directly depends on the mother's health. A woman should think in advance about the purity, so that during the passage of the birth canal the child does not catch any infection.

Symptoms

Conjunctivitis in infants is easy enough to identify.They are identical to the symptoms of the disease in adults. However, it should be noted that babies react differently to conjunctivitis.They begin to cry often, to be capricious, lose calm, sleep badly, become listless.

In most cases, breast-fed conjunctivitis causes viruses, bacteria or allergens.

The main symptoms are:

1. Eyes turn red, eyelids and conjunctiva swell.
2. There is a fear of light, profuse lacrimation;
3. On the eyelids are formed crusts of yellow color;
4. Pus stands out from the eyes;
5. The child badly eats, does not sleep.

If pus is released from the eyes, the conjunctivitis is viral in nature. If there is no pus, but the eyes are red and irritated, then conjunctivitis can be viral or allergic.

Causes of profuse lacrimation from one eye, read here.

Diagnostics

It is not difficult to diagnose conjunctivitis in infants.The clinical picture of the disease does not allow you to pinpoint the cause, so a smear or a scraping from the surface of the conjunctiva is done.This biological material is stained and looked under a microscope, or sowing is done, which is then sent to a laboratory study of the microflora.There also determine the presence of sensitivity or resistance to various antibiotics.

The results of laboratory diagnostics influence the choice of the method of treatment of conjunctivitis.

Additional methods for diagnosing infantile conjunctivitis are aimed at detecting antibodies in the blood that fight the causative agent of the disease.

Treatment

Treatment of conjunctivitis caused by bacteria in children must be carried out in several stages:

• The first thing to do is remove the eye from the conjunctiva.This is done by washing with a disinfectant solution.
• After this, it is necessary to drip into the eyes anesthetic.It will eliminate the syndrome of compression of the eyelids and the fear of light.
• At the final stage, use drops or ointments with antibacterial effect.

Features of the use of antibacterial drops will tell this material.

Eye drops should be dripped seven to eight times a day for six days, then five to six times within three to four days, then it will be enough two to three times until recovery. As for ointments, they must be applied two to three times a day on the inner surface of the eyelids.

Only the doctor decides in what conditions to carry out treatment (at home or in the hospital). It all depends on the type of disease, its severity, the age of the baby and so on.

To remove pus from your eyes, you need to rinse them as often as possible.To do this, it is recommended to use furatsilinom or solution of potassium permanganate.It is necessary to wash eyelids with a rubber pear. In intervals between washing, drops drip every two to three hours, and nighttime they fill the ointment.

• For treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis, Albucide, drops (Levomycetin) and ointments (Tetracycline) with antibiotics are usually prescribed.
• Viral conjunctivitis caused by herpes is treated with Acyclovir, Trifluridin.
• Antihistamines and antiallergic drugs (Lecrolin, Kromogeksal) are prescribed for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.

A brief overview of anti-allergic drugs for the eyes in this article.

Treatment of adenoviral conjunctivitis

Complications

Conjunctivitis leads to a decrease in immunity, which in turn affects the susceptibility of the child to catarrhal diseases.

Colds are a factor that provokes the emergence of secondary conjunctivitis.

Experts say that the most dangerous complication that conjunctivitis can lead to is the defeat of the inner layers of the eyes.It is fraught with loss of vision, and it can not be cured. It should be remembered that conjunctivitis can worsen the sight of the baby, as well as cause lung disease.

Prevention

Conjunctivitis, as is known, is transmitted by airborne droplets, so the main sources are air, the hands of parents or doctors, child care items, eye treatment solutions.

Prevention involves a number of activities that take place in maternity clinics, women's clinics and pediatrician receptions.The measures are aimed at timely detection and treatment of infections in pregnant women, sterilization of the birth canal and preventive treatment of the eye of the child.

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conclusions

Conjunctivitis in infants is well treatable. The main thing in time to see a doctor and begin treatment. This will prevent the occurrence of complications, which then will be cured very difficult.

What other symptoms are there in children with the disease of conjunctivitis this article will tell.