Conjunctivitis often occurs in both children and adults. Pathology is characterized by an inflammatory process that develops in the mucous membrane of the eye and at the same time gives the patient severe discomfort. Most people ask the same question in this situation: how long is conjunctivitis treated?
Conjunctiva: what is it
The conjunctiva is the transparent membrane that covers the front of the eyeball and lines the inside of the eyelid. If the conjunctiva is he althy, it will be transparent and smooth. It performs several important functions, the main of which include the following:
- Protects eyes from infection.
- Protects against injury from fine dust particles.
- Helps produce tears.
Thanks to a he althy conjunctiva, the eyeball can fully move. The shell contains a huge number of small glands that are responsible for the production of tears. Whereinthe shell is completely permeated with small vessels. If there is an inflammatory process, then the conjunctiva begins to redden very quickly.
Symptoms of disease
Regardless of the form of the disease, conjunctivitis is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Tears begin to flow intensely.
- Human being can't stand harsh light.
- Feels like sand or some small foreign object has gotten into the eye.
- The surface of the eye becomes red and inflamed.
- The eyelids begin to swell, then turn red.
- In the eyes appear discharge, which will depend on the form of pathology. It could be pus or clear mucus.
- After sleep, the eyelids are most often stuck together due to a large amount of discharge.
Depending on the symptoms present, you can answer how much conjunctivitis is treated in a particular case.
Inflammation of the bacterial type
In the presence of a bacterial inflammatory process, the duration of the disease on average does not exceed seven days. Very rarely, noticeable improvements occur within two or three weeks. A provocateur of the inflammatory process, as well as the state of human immunity, plays a huge role. Bacterial type conjunctivitis can be triggered by:
- staphylococci;
- pneumococci;
- gonococci.
Staphylococcus epidermidis
This bacterium is the most common, and it is she who causes the development of conjunctivitis. The bacterium lives in the microflora of the human eye, and while immunitygreatly weakened, it makes itself felt. In almost all cases, staphylococci become the cause of the development of pathology. A characteristic feature of the disease are the eyelids glued together due to pus. At this time, it is easiest to cure staphylococcal conjunctivitis.
Note! In the presence of a bacterial type of eye disease, it is necessary to rinse as often as possible with a variety of antiseptic solutions.
Pneumococcal disease
Conjunctivitis caused by pneumococci usually occurs in an acute form. The main symptoms include the following:
- very swollen eyelids;
- high body temperature rises;
- purulent whitish films form.
If the pathology is of moderate severity, then it can be cured in two weeks.
Gonococcal conjunctivitis
This type of inflammation is considered the most severe. Children most often become infected with it during passage through the birth canal. For adults, there are a lot of infection options, but the main one can be called contact-household.
You need to seek help from a specialist immediately after the first signs appear, because pathology can even lead to loss of vision. The duration of the disease will differ depending on the degree of the course and the stage at which the patient went to the doctor. Also, how much conjunctivitis is treated depends on how correctly the therapy was chosen.
Chlamydial conjunctivitis
Quite commoncause is chlamydia. This type of disease occurs in approximately 14% of all people suffering from inflammation of the membrane of the eyeball. A patient can become infected at any age. The first signs of infection will become noticeable 10-14 days after chlamydia enters the eye shell.
First, the inflammatory process develops only in one eye, the second is affected a little later. To completely get rid of the pathology caused by chlamydia, you must undergo a two-week course of treatment.
Important! You should consult a doctor immediately after the first symptoms of an inflammatory process in the eye appear.
Viral conjunctivitis
This type of disease is also quite common. In most cases, it occurs as a complication after a cold or SARS. The main features include the following:
- pain while swallowing;
- severe cough;
- high body temperature.
At the same time, symptoms such as:
- noticeable redness of the eyes;
- eyelids begin to swell;
- mucous discharge without pus forms in the eyes.
In most cases, viral pathology resolves on its own. Many are interested in how much viral conjunctivitis is treated. This process can take up to three weeks. After the body's immunity is at least slightly strengthened, the condition of the mucous membrane of the eye will return to normal.
In order to significantly speed up the healing process, the patient must takespecial medicines. Most often, in the presence of a herpetic inflammatory process, additional medications are prescribed. In this case, the duration of conjunctivitis treatment will depend directly on antiviral agents.
Allergic-type conjunctivitis
In this case, the cause of the disease is a person's contact with one or another allergen. Rarely, the cause is chronic fatigue, which was provoked by prolonged visual work. Pathology is not transmitted to others.
Note! In children, this type of conjunctivitis can be caused by a blocked tear duct. In this regard, if you notice signs of an inflammatory process in the eye in a child, you should immediately seek the advice of a specialist.
Therapy for allergic conjunctivitis is quite simple. The main goal is to remove or minimize contact with the allergen, as well as reduce eye strain. Be sure to wash your eyes every day with high-quality antiseptic solutions. Parents are interested in: "How long is conjunctivitis treated in children?" Therapy will take a maximum of two weeks if there are no complications.
Rare forms of the disease. Traumatic conjunctivitis
This article discusses the most common forms of the disease, but you can encounter other manifestations of conjunctivitis. They will be discussed further.
This form of the disease develops if a foreign body has entered the mucous membrane of the eye. Toto make the symptoms less pronounced, you should immediately contact an ophthalmologist. The specialist will first drop an anesthetic into the eye, then remove the foreign body and determine how many days conjunctivitis is treated in an individual case. In the case of post-traumatic conjunctivitis, inflammation of the eye begins, mucopurulent discharge appears. It is customary to use an antibiotic to treat them.
Morax-Axenfeld conjunctivitis
This form of the disease is considered chronic, sluggish, but the patient may constantly complain of itching in the corners of the eyes, which is difficult to endure. For treatment, a solution of zinc sulfate is used. Regardless of how many days this type of conjunctivitis is treated, after recovery, it is necessary to carry out additional prevention of relapse, the duration of which is approximately two weeks.
Epidemic hemorrhagic conjunctivitis
This disease was first recorded in North, then in West Africa in 1969. The main cause of the development of pathology is considered picornavirus. It can only be transmitted by contact. First, the inflammatory process begins to develop in one eye. The defeat of the second occurs in two days. Local symptoms of the disease develop along with general signs:
- migraine;
- tracheitis;
- severe malaise;
- bronchitis;
- increased body temperature.
The first symptoms become noticeable about two weeks afterinfections, and it largely depends on them how many days conjunctivitis is treated in adults. To make an accurate diagnosis, you need to consult an ophthalmologist, an infectious disease specialist. Antiviral drugs are used for treatment. At the same time, it is desirable to use topical antiallergic therapy. The type of eye conjunctivitis treatment chosen and how many days this disease is treated are related things.
Dry conjunctivitis
Pathology occurs due to disturbances in the work of the lacrimal glands. Most often occurs in older women. There can be several reasons for the development of the disease: old age, exposure to a chemical nature, a burn. In this case, you can notice an insufficiently abundant film. Sometimes the dry type of conjunctivitis is accompanied by a strong inflammatory process in the eyelids. If you do not begin to treat the disease, then the symptoms will develop over several months. As a therapy, it is customary to use topical lubricants.
In the event that some drugs cause allergic reactions in the patient, then for treatment you need to use those products that do not contain preservatives.
Duration of childhood illness
It is very important for parents how much conjunctivitis is treated in a child. Just like in an adult, the duration of the disease will depend on its type:
- Viral inflammation in children lasts an average of 5-7 days. In the presence of a severe form, the recovery periodincreases up to 2-3 weeks.
- Children endure herpetic conjunctivitis for a long time. The duration of illness is at least two weeks.
- A purulent form of the disease is treated for a very long time in childhood. In some cases, the treatment period can take up to two months. The recovery period will differ depending on which pathogen initially provoked the appearance of the inflammatory process.
- In childhood, adenovirus conjunctivitis is easy and fast.
- For a long time it is necessary to treat those forms of conjunctivitis that were caused by diphtheria bacillus, meningococci, gonococci. Recovery, as a rule, does not occur earlier than two months after the onset of the development of the pathological process.
- The form of the disease depends on how many days conjunctivitis is treated in children. Other forms of bacterial eye damage in children can be cured in 3-5 weeks.
- The inflammatory process caused by chlamydia is treated in childhood for 10-21 days. The duration in this case will depend entirely on how strong the child's immunity is.
- Treatment of the allergic form of conjunctivitis takes a very long time. Sometimes this can take years. At the same time, regular periods of exacerbation will be constantly replaced by remissions of varying duration.
The duration of treatment of the disease in children is not much different from how long conjunctivitis is treated in adults. Conjunctivitis is quite complexa disease in the presence of which it is impossible to self-medicate. When the first symptoms appear, you should definitely seek help from a specialist.
