Conjunctivitis in a child, taking place in 3 years - what to do?

When a child is small, about three years old, his body can be significantly weakened, because the immunity has not yet been formed to the proper degree. Because many problems are particularly pronounced. An example may be conjunctivitis, which at this age can be a serious enough trouble. Let's take a closer look at what it is and how quickly to cure conjunctivitis in a child.

What it is

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eyes.Usually the body is protected from various external factors, like viruses and bacteria, with the help of tears, as well as the eyelids, but sometimes they do not help - and something so gets into your eyes and causes a similar inflammation.It is on the basis of what became the cause of the problem that the classification of conjunctivitis species is carried out.

Causes

Conjunctivitis has various causes, depending on what kind of form it manifests in the baby. It can be of the following categories:

• Allergic.With this form, the baby already had a predisposition to an allergy to some stimulus. Most often, the allergy is seasonal, for example, when flowering starts in the spring, but there are different cases.
• Bacterial.The reason for this disease is that bacteria get to the surface of the conjunctiva. Most often it is staphylococcus, pneumococcus, streptococcus, gonococcus, and chlamydia. Usually they are recorded with the help of physical contact, for example, the child touched something with dirty hands, then scratched his eyes - and now with time the conjunctivitis developed.
• Viral.It develops against a background of various viral diseases, for example, ARVI or influenza, but also others. The cause is not only the virus, but also the general weakening of the body, which is especially critical for children at such a young age.

Symptoms

Symptomatology can differ depending on what type of conjunctivitis is present in the baby.But there are general symptoms, which must be paid attention in the first place. These include the following:

• swelling and redness of the eyes;
• photophobia;
• gluing eyelids after sleep;
• sensation, as if a foreign body entered the eye;
• purulent discharge from the eyes;
• deterioration of sleep and appetite;
• the appearance of yellow crusts on the eyelids.

The problem in this case is that small children usually can not describe well what they feel and what exactly happens to them. For example, they may have less clear eyesight, but they will not be aware of the changes, unlike more adult children, Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the observation of the baby, to identify the indirect signs that some changes.

Some signs are still characteristic of specific types of conjunctivitis.

• Allergic formcharacterized by a sufficiently strong reddening of the eye, as well as inflammation. In this case, there is almost no pus, or not at all.
• With a bacterial formalmost always there is an abundant purulent discharge. Usually the problem starts on one eye, but it spreads to the second one quite quickly.
• In viral formthe disease is usually also not, most often the problem appears immediately on two eyes. If it is an adenoviral variation, then pharyngitis usually develops.

Sometimes a bacterial form of the disease is diagnosed and antibiotic treatment is prescribed, but there is no result. This can, of course, mean that the diagnosis was erroneous, but often it simply means that these bacteria are resistant to the type of antibiotic chosen. It is necessary to carry out a qualifying examination that will allow to correct the course of treatment.

Symptoms of some forms of the disease can still be inherent in others, so the final conclusion is that, what exactly is happening now with the baby, a qualified doctor does after a detailed examination child.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis begins with a general examination of the baby.Most of the signs are visual, so it is easy to identify them with a basic history and visual examination of the eyes.If the doctor needs clarification, additional bacterial tests, allergy tests and other tests at the doctor's discretion may be made.

Treatment

Treatment is medically done, and the approach to it is chosen depending on what form of the disease is present in the baby.

• With allergic form of the diseaseit is usually necessary to treat with antihistamines. Anti-allergic drops can be used to improve the general condition of the child. An important part of therapy will be fencing the baby from a source of allergy.
• With the bacterial form of the diseasetake antibiotics, which are specifically selected for a particular baby.
• With the viral form of the diseaseis treated with special antiviral drugs. It is necessary to eliminate the underlying disease, against which background conjunctivitis arose, and then to reduce the level of inflammation.

Under no situation, self-medication is unacceptable. Yes, some kinds of conjunctivitis pass without external intervention at all, but self-medication can aggravate the problem. The kid at such a young age requires a particularly gentle treatment, the selection of medications must be done very carefully, it must be entrusted to the specialist.

Complications

Although in most cases, conjunctivitis passes without any problems, it can still cause serious complications, if not consult a specialist in a timely manner.

A severely neglected disease can lead to loss of vision.

With the progression of conjunctivitis leads to a decrease in the level of vision and its fogging.

Prevention

Prevention of conjunctivitis directly depends on what form it can potentially occur in the child.When allergic form is necessary to maximally protect the baby from all possible contacts with allergens.In addition, the doctor can prescribe a course of antihistamines, which are acceptable for this age.

The bacterial form is simply eliminated by basic hygiene.

All personal items of the child should be clean, you need to develop a habit of not rubbing your eyes after he played with something - and better and do not rub them in principle.It is important to control the cleanliness of the foods that the baby consumes, to ventilate the room more often and to teach him to wash his hands after he plays or walked.

From viral conjunctivitis it's easiest to be saved by limiting contact with people infected by it, as well as general strengthening of immunity. To do this, you need to walk at least a couple of hours a day and maintain the necessary level of vitamins in the baby's nutrition.

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conclusions

Conjunctivitis is an unpleasant thing at any age, but conjunctivitis in a child of 3 years is quite a serious problem. Fortunately, the likelihood of its occurrence can be sufficiently reduced if we adhere to the general preventive norms - and also promptly eliminate, if it has already arisen. Be attentive and watch for the symptoms, then the baby will not get sick - and if he gets sick, he will quickly recover.