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20th, August 2019 | Donna

8 Easy Conjunctivitis Treatment that You Didn’t Know

Conjunctivitis, which is popularly known as pink eye, is an eye problem that is very contagious. An article by the National Eye Institute shows that over 3 million Americans are affected by pink eye each year.

Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of your conjunctiva, which is the transparent tissue that covers the white part of your eye. Conjunctivitis has many causes and is typically easy to treat.

However, because conjunctivitis is very contagious, it is important that you learn about conjunctivitis treatment and home remedies that you can follow.

What is conjunctivitis?

As mentioned above, conjunctivitis or pink eye is the inflammation of your conjunctiva. When you have conjunctivitis, you’ll generally notice that your eyes are red, irritated, and swollen.

It is also common for you to tear up and feel an itchy sensation in your eye. Additionally, when one of your eyes is inflamed, it will most likely spread to your other eye.

Conjunctivitis treatment is very important to help you get through the discomfort that it gives.

Aside from the discomfort and inconvenience that it brings, conjunctivitis is usually harmless.

However, the problem lies in how easily this problem can spread from one person to another.

Children are typically more prone to pink eye as it spreads very easily within populated places like schools and day care facilities.

Although, you shouldn’t be too alarmed since conjunctivitis does not leave any long-term vision damage.

This is especially true if you’re familiar with any type of conjunctivitis treatment that can help you fix the problem quickly.

Common Symptoms of Conjunctivitis

It is important for you to be capable of identifying the signs of pink eye before you learn about conjunctivitis treatment.

Like any form of illness, conjunctivitis has a couple symptoms and warning signs that you look out for.

Although pink eye can occur from different causes, the warning signs are generally similar.

In fact, you might even find it easy to spot pink eye before the symptoms get worse.

Red or Pink Eyes

Conjunctivitis isn’t popularly known as pink eye without a reason. In fact, you could say that the term “pink eye” is a literal and fairly accurate description of conjunctivitis.

When your conjunctiva has inflammation, the white part of your eyes will appear red or pinkish. Additionally, they may also appear glossy and slightly swollen.

Read this article to avoid eye strain: THESE THINGS CAN HELP YOU PREVENT EYE STRAIN.

Having red or pinkish eyes is not an unusually sight. In fact, crying, lack of sleep, or mild irritation can cause your eyes to turn red—which is pretty normal.

However, pink eye has more symptoms that can help you identify it easily. In addition, the reddening of your eyes caused by conjunctivitis stays for a couple of days.

Yellow Discharge and Fluid Secretion

When you have pink eye, your eyes will start to secret unusual amounts of fluid. You could even say that conjunctivitis makes you tear up uncontrollably.

However, aside from tears, your eyes may also secrete yellow or greenish fluids.

The amount of fluid discharge can also cause your eyes to seal shut when they build up and dry out on your eyelids

Eye Pains

The primary reason for people to want conjunctivitis treatment is the pain that comes with it.

When you have pink eye, your eyes are going to be sore and sensitive. You may also feel an itchy and burning sensation as your conjunctivitis progresses.

Sensitive Blurry Vision

Finally, conjunctivitis can also cause your eyes to be sensitive to light. And it can also make your vision less clear and a little more blurry.

That’s why it’s important that you stay at home and rest your eyes when you have pink eye.

Conjunctivitis Treatment at Home

Normally, conjunctivitis disappears even without the aid of medical treatment. An NCBI study reports that most pink eye that are caused by bacteria do not need any medical intervention or treatment.

However, you should also take note that in some rare cases, conjunctivitis may also lead to more serious vision problems.

Read this to prevent eye strain: THESE THINGS CAN HELP YOU PREVENT EYE STRAIN.

To put it simply, pink eye is better prevented than cured. However, as much as you want to prevent pink eye, there are times when you or your loved ones can’t avoid getting infected.

And when that happens, knowing the right conjunctivitis treatment will help you deal with better. In fact, you may even help your eyes heal faster.

1. Wipe your eyes with clean cloth

Have you tried waking up shocked because your eyes won’t seem to open? That’s probably because the dry tears that’s keeping your eyelids stuck together.

When this happens, a simple solution is to wipe your eyes with a clean damp cloth.

A good conjunctivitis treatment is to simply dip a cloth in a lukewarm water, and then wipe your eyes gently to remove the crusts.

When you dampen the cloth, the moisture will help dissolve the crusts in your eyes and make wiping them off easier.

Additionally, you should make sure that the cloth is clean to avoid contamination that could make your pink eye worse.

You should also make sure to clean the cloth immediately after using it. Pink eye is very contagious, and the cloth that you used to wipe your eyes can easily infect other people if not disposed of properly.

2. Cold Compress

Contrary to the fluid secretion that pink eye causes, conjunctivitis can also make your eyes swollen and dry.

This dryness will make your eyes feel sticky which leads to more irritation and pain whenever you blink.

But don’t worry, a simple cold compress can help alleviate the swelling and discomfort.

Just gently press a cold compress on your eyes once in a while or whenever they feel unbearable.

Read this article if you suffer from dry eyes: CAUSES OF DRY EYES AND WAYS TO GET RID OF IT.

Artificial tears are also a good over-the-counter product that serves as a conjunctivitis treatment.

But if you feel hesitant, you can always ask for a pharmacists opinion on which product to buy for your pink eye.

Just make sure that you keep a safe distance from people to avoid contaminating them.

With all jokes aside, you can use artificial tears to help moisten your eyes when they feel too dry or sticky.

3. Don’t Wear Contact Lenses

Stop using your contact lenses if you have pink eye! Remember, conjunctivitis makes your eyes swollen, dry, and very irritated, so putting contact lenses directly on them will logically make your eyes feel more miserable.

If you really need corrective lenses to help you through your day, we suggest that you stick to using eyeglasses. Besides, it’s only until your eyes get better.

Read this article for some contact lens care tips: PREVENT EYE INFECTION AS YOU KEEP YOUR CONTACT LENSES CLEAN.

Remember, you have a lot of responsibility as a contact lens owner. Aside from the cleaning habits, and daily regiments, you also have to be aware about the dangers that come when you miss use your contacts.

So keep reading and learn about the conjunctivitis treatment that you can use.

4. Avoid Digital Screens and Devices

Pink eye makes your eyes sensitive to bright lights. Additionally, pink eye makes your eyes weaker and more prone to stress.

As a result, the bright screens from your digital devices will give you more eye strain than usual.

Normally, the blue light and brightness from our devices are enough to cause stress that can even harm your vision.

Now, imagine how much more damage and stress it can cause when your eyes are not at their best shape.

Read this article if you love staring at digital screens: HOW DIGITAL DEVICES ARE THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR EYE STRAIN.

To help keep your eyes from getting worse, simply stay indoors and avoid using your devices.

As tempting as it may be to sit at home and play with your devices, you need to rest your eyes and stay away from your toys until your eyes feel better.

Additionally, it is also better if you avoid reading, especially in a dimly lit room. Any strenuous activity for your eyes can only make you feel worse.

5. Good Hygienic Habits

Conjunctivitis can be caused by a virus, bacteria, allergy, or irritation from foreign objects. So it’s essential that you practice hygienic habits to prevent your condition from getting worse.

As a conjunctivitis treatment, you can start by regularly washing your hands with soap and water. It is also helpful if you have lots of clean cloth that you can use to wipe your eyes.

Another good habit to follow is to properly dispose your used items and clothing.

Pink eye is very contagious so you should always assume that your clothing and the materials that yous use to clean your eyes are already contaminated.

If you keep your used materials away from others, store your personal belongings in a clean container, and change your sheets regularly, you can help save other people from having pink eye.

6. Don’t Rub Your Eyes

As simple as it may sound, this tip may prove to be much harder to follow when you have conjunctivitis.

Pink eye causes your eyes to dry up and feel very itchy. It can also make your eyes sticky and very sensitive.

And when this happens, you’ll basically want to rub your eyes with your fingers to try and ease the pain.

However, doing so will only make things worse because the dryness of your eyes will make it more sensitive to touch.

As a result, your eyes are going to feel more irritated and painful.

Try these remedies for your dry eyes: HOME REMEDIES FOR DRY EYES THAT YOU CAN TRY.

Additionally, rubbing your eyes with unsanitized hands can only make you more susceptible to eye infections.

So whenever you feel like rubbing your eyes, just use a clean damp towel and gently press it on the irritated part.

7. Allergy Medication

Pink eye can occur due to some allergic reaction from stuff like dust particles and pollen.

So, when your conjunctivitis is due to your allergies, taking allergy medication like antihistamin may alleviate some of your symptoms and can act as a good conjunctivitis treatment.

Read this article for some home-made allergy solutions: HOW TO DEAL WITH EYE ALLERGIES: HOME REMEDIES AND MORE.

Additionally, allergic conjunctivitis may be present all year round or for specific season only, which normally depends on the type of allergies you have.

But to play it safe, just avoid places with lots of pollen and dust particles.

8. Antibiotics

Some bacterial conjunctivitis may be more problematic than the other forms of pink eye.

In fact, a study by NCBI shows that pink eye that is caused by chlamydia or gonorrhea for contact lens users need antibiotics for treatment.

Additionally, this type of pink eye is more problematic compared to allergic or viral conjunctivitis because it can potentially lead to severe problems.

If you don’t have it checked and treated, bacterial pink eye can cause damage to your eyes that may be irreversible depending on the severity.

Just make sure that you have your eyes checked by a trusted doctor before you take any sort of medication.

Conclusion

The basic conjunctivitis treatment and home remedies in this article can serve as a guideline.

However, you should always consider asking for professional help before taking any sort of medication, especially if you feel that your condition is more serious than it should be.

After all, you can always go to the nearest clinic to have your eyes checked just in case. But for the most part, conjunctivitis is not something that you should be too worried about.

Just follow our conjunctivitis treatment tips and home remedies, to give your eyes a chance to heal a lot faster.

Finally, conjunctivitis is very contagious so make sure to follow our tips so you can prevent it from spreading to your loved ones.

References:

Facts About Pink Eye

https://nei.nih.gov/health/pinkeye/pink_facts

Conjunctivitis: A Systematic Review of Diagnosis and Treatment

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4049531

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