What Is Viral Conjunctivitis?

Symptoms of viral conjunctivitis occur after an incubation period of about 5 to 12 days, including conjunctival congestion, watery secretions, eye irritation, and adhesion of upper and lower eyelids when waking. Symptoms often occur in both eyes, and usually begin first. Many patients have been exposed to conjunctivitis and / or have recently had a respiratory infection. Conjunctival and conjunctival congestion, conjunctival follicles in the conjunctiva, swollen and painful lymph nodes in the ear.

Symptoms of viral conjunctivitis occur after an incubation period of about 5 to 12 days, including conjunctival congestion, watery secretions, eye irritation, and adhesion of upper and lower eyelids when waking. Symptoms often occur in both eyes, and usually begin first. Many patients have been exposed to conjunctivitis and / or have recently had a respiratory infection. Conjunctival and conjunctival congestion, conjunctival follicles in the conjunctiva, swollen and painful lymph nodes in the ear.

Clinical manifestations of viral conjunctivitis

Patients with severe viral conjunctivitis can report obvious photophobia and foreign body sensation. The patient's conjunctival surface may have fibrin false membranes and inflammatory cells and / or focal corneal inflammation. Even after the conjunctivitis subsides, check with a slit lamp It can be seen that residual corneal scar formation (0.5 ~ 1.0mm) has taken 2 years or more. This corneal scar formation can cause vision loss and significant glare.

Viral conjunctivitis

Although viral conjunctivitis can be cultured, special tissue culture equipment is required to grow the virus. Secondary bacterial infections are rare. If any components such as purulent secretions are consistent with bacterial conjunctivitis, a bacterial culture must be performed. The smear can be examined microscopically and stained with Gram to identify bacteria and stained with Giemsa to determine leukocyte responses.

Classification of viral conjunctivitis

Viral conjunctivitis is a common conjunctivitis that can be caused by a variety of viruses.

One group: the main manifestations are acute follicular conjunctivitis: epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, epidemic hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, pharyngeal conjunctival fever herpesvirus conjunctivitis, and Newcastle disease conjunctivitis.

One group: Relative subacute or chronic regimen of conjunctivitis: including molluscum conjunctivitis, chickenpox-herpes zoster conjunctivitis, measles keratoconjunctivitis, etc., mild viral conjunctivitis: Rapid self-limiting, serious want to buy may have severe systemic symptoms, except for typical ones, the clinical manifestations of lunch are significantly different, which is related to the virulence of the pathogenic virus and the individual immune status.

Treatment of viral conjunctivitis

Rinse the conjunctival sac with physiological saline. After washing, you can use 0.1% eczema net, 4% morpholinoguan (virin) or neomycin, 0.1% acyclovir eye drops; morpholine can also be taken orally Guanidine, 0.2g each time, 3 times a day. In the absence of corneal lesions, 0.5% cortisone acetate eye drops can be used at the same time to reduce symptoms, but corticosteroids should not be used during the inflammatory phase. Traditional Chinese medicine for clearing heat and detoxifying such as decoction or washing eyes with honeysuckle and Coptis chinensis has certain effect.

Treatment of viral conjunctivitis

Viral conjunctivitis is highly contagious and is spread by droplets, contaminants, and inoculation by hand to the eye. To avoid cross-contamination, the physician must thoroughly wash hands and disinfect the instruments used after examining the patient. Patients are instructed to wash their hands thoroughly after touching their eyes or nasal secretions, and to avoid contacting non-infected eyes after touching infected eyes. Avoid using towels and pillows together. Eye secretions must be removed and the affected eye should not be encapsulated. Viral conjunctivitis is self-limiting, with mild cases lasting 1 week and severe cases up to 3 weeks. If conjunctivitis is determined to be caused by a virus, no treatment or treatment is necessary.

If any clinical feature is consistent with bacterial conjunctivitis, the patient must be treated topically with antibiotics, such as 10% sodium sulfacetamide eye drops or trimethoprim / polymyxin B, 4 times a day, for a total of 7-10 day. Severe conjunctivitis is accompanied by false membranes, and corneal inflammation or scar formation that affects vision may require local application of corticosteroids. However, topical application of corticosteroids may aggravate herpes simplex virus infection in the eye and may cause corneal ulcers or even perforations. Long-term application of corticosteroids can cause glaucoma and may cause cataracts, so the use of corticosteroids must be enabled and monitored by an ophthalmologist.

Precautions for viral conjunctivitis

^[1] 1. Viral conjunctivitis is extremely contagious. Patients should pay attention to isolation and cannot go to public places to avoid infecting others. At this time, the self-resistance is also low, and it is easy to co-infect other diseases.

2. Patients should pay attention to rest, and their diet should be light.

3. Towels, handkerchiefs, washbasins and other toiletries should be used separately to avoid transmitting viral conjunctivitis to others.