Conjunctivitis In Children - Treatment, Symptoms And Types

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Conjunctivitis in children

Conjunctivitis often occurs in children of all ages, from newborns to adolescents. The cause of its appearance may be hypothermia, viral or bacterial infection, allergies.

It is possible to prevent or reduce the number of cases of inflammation of the conjunctiva, reduce the severity of their manifestations, if the following requirements are met:

• Timely wash toys, change bedding, clean the room;
• Observe hygiene rules and teach children to do this (in particular, mandatory washing of hands after each contamination, prohibition of touching eyes, face with hands);
• Control the microclimate in the room where the children are, ventilate it and humidify the air;
• Correct the children's diet, avoid eating foods that provoke the appearance of allergies;
• Walking in any weather for at least 2 hours each;
• Give your child a personal towel;
• Reduce communication of children with infectious agents.

Nature has created natural barriers against the penetration of infection - these are the eyelids and tears. But even this protection becomes unreliable from the introduction of viruses, bacteria and other infections if the child has a low immune status.

Content:

• Conjunctivitis symptoms in children
• How to determine the type of conjunctivitis in a child?
• Basic rules for the treatment of conjunctivitis in a child
• How to bury a child's eyes correctly
• How to treat different types of conjunctivitis in children

Conjunctivitis symptoms in children

The manifestations of inflammation of the mucous membrane in both children and adults are about the same, only the reaction to the symptoms of the disease differs - children become restless, or, conversely, lethargic, they lose their appetite, are capricious.

The main symptoms of inflammation of the conjunctiva as perceived by children are a feeling of grit or grit in the eyes. The disease is caused by viruses, bacteria or allergens.

Signs of conjunctivitis in children:

• The eyes turn red, the eyelids swell;
• Yellow crusts are visible on the eyelids;
• After sleeping, the eyelids are difficult to open, as they stick together;
• A purulent or mucous discharge appears;
• Decreases or no appetite, night sleep becomes restless.

Symptoms of the disease in older children, which can characterize their condition:

• Feeling of a foreign body under the eyelids;
• Vision deteriorates, the child does not see his surroundings clearly;
• Itching and burning appear.

To cure childhood conjunctivitis, you need to consult an ophthalmologist. The doctor will determine the cause of mucosal inflammation, prescribe treatment based on age and possible contraindications. In some cases, there is a need to differentiate conjunctivitis from cases similar in symptomatology - the ingress of a foreign body into the eye, eyelashes. It is possible that the pathology is much more serious than it seems at first glance. The child may have increased intracranial or intraocular pressure.

How to determine the type of conjunctivitis in a child?

• Pus appears on the mucous membrane - a bacterial form of inflammation;
• Irritation and redness without pus is diagnosed - an allergic or viral form;
• The combination of pharyngitis and conjunctivitis is an adenoviral form of inflammation;
• The use of antibiotics does not bring relief - the causative agent of the disease is resistant to drugs or it is not a bacterial form.

Basic rules for the treatment of conjunctivitis in a child

• You should not take independent measures to treat the disease before consulting an ophthalmologist. If it is impossible to get medical help in the near future, then an urgent measure will be the instillation of Albucid in a child's dosage if a bacterial or viral factor is suspected. If an allergic form of the disease is suspected, children should be given an antihistamine in the form of tablets or suspension.

• If the ophthalmologist has determined that conjunctivitis is of a viral or bacterial nature, the eyes of the sick child are washed with a solution of chamomile or Furacilin solution (1 tablet per 100 ml of boiled water). Rinsing is carried out from the temple to the nose. Purulent crusts should be removed with sterile wipes soaked in the above antiseptic solutions, they can also wash the child. Use a separate tissue for each eye. With the relief of inflammation, this procedure is carried out less often - no more than 3 times a day. For allergic conjunctivitis, do not rinse the eyes.
• With unilateral conjunctivitis, hygiene procedures are performed with both eyes to prevent the spread of the inflammatory process to a healthy organ of vision.
• The use of eye patches provokes increased reproduction of pathogenic microorganisms, creates a risk of injury to the inflamed tissues of the eyelids.
• For the use of such a dosage form as drops, only drugs recommended by a doctor are used. The basic rule is to bury them every 3 hours in the acute period. Common drugs for children under one year old are 10% Albucid solution; in older children, Levomycetin, Colbiocin, Futsitalmic, Eubital, Vitabakt solution is used.
• When an ophthalmologist prescribes an eye ointment, it is placed behind the lower eyelid with gentle movements. Conjunctivitis in children is treated with tetracycline or erythromycin ointment.
• The frequency of treatment procedures using drops, ointments or hygiene solutions after improvement of the condition is carried out no more than 3 times a day.

How to bury a child's eyes correctly

• Treatment of conjunctivitis in infants is carried out with a pipette with a safe, rounded tip so as not to damage the cornea of the eye.
• The baby is laid on a flat surface, the assistant fixes his head motionless.
• The lower eyelid of the child is pulled back and 1-2 drops are dropped into the conjunctival sac. The drug will be distributed over the mucous membrane of the eye on its own, its excess is gently blotted. Each eye is wiped with a separate gauze pad.
• If children resist instilling the medicine by closing their eyes, it is enough to release drops from the pipette between the eyelids. They will fall on the mucous membrane when the eyelids are opened. If necessary, the closed eye is opened, gently stretching the eyelids to the sides.
• If the drops are prescribed to be stored in the refrigerator, they are warmed by holding them in the hand. In order not to irritate the mucous membrane, you can not use drugs with low temperature.
• It is forbidden to use drops if there is no marking on them, the expiration date has expired, they were opened a long time ago.
• Younger schoolchildren and adolescents can independently perform medical procedures under the supervision of adults.

How to treat different types of conjunctivitis in children

The tactics of treating mucosal inflammation in children depends on the factor that provoked the disease:

• Bacterial conjunctivitis in children. Treatment of conjunctivitis in children, caused by the action of bacteria, pathogenic microbes, is carried out with topical antibiotics - drops and ointments. The causative agents of bacterial conjunctivitis are streptococcus, staphylococcus, gonococcus, chlamydia, pneumococcus. Complications of this form of inflammation or its relapses are treated with general antibiotics, the use of additional drugs.
• Viral conjunctivitis in children. The causative agents are herpes virus, enteroviruses, adenoviruses, Coxsackie virus. Treatment of conjunctivitis in children, provoked by a virus, is carried out by an ophthalmologist. The herpes virus is stopped by Zovirax ointments, Acyclovir, Trifluridine drops. Effective drops when the virus enters the mucous membrane - Aktipol, Poludan.
• Allergic conjunctivitis. This form of the disease is caused by allergens - medicines, food, dust, animal hair, pollen from flowering plants. The main symptoms are severe itching, redness of the mucous membrane, swelling, lacrimation. The doctor uses tests to determine the type of allergen that provokes the disease in order to limit the child's contact with it. If such an examination is not carried out, there is a risk of bronchial asthma and other complications.

Treatment of conjunctivitis in children, provoked by an allergen, is carried out with antihistamines. Dexamethasone, Allergodil, Lekrolin, Kromohexal, Olopatodin are most often used in pediatrics.

Timely diagnosis and treatment of conjunctivitis in children under the guidance of a doctor will help to quickly eliminate the negative symptoms of inflammation. Self-medication increases the risk of relapse and chronic disease.

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Author of the article: Sokolova Praskovya Fedorovna, pediatrician