Health News • Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)

Many children are sent home from school or from their childcare situation with what is commonly termed as “pink eye” and are not allowed back until “treated.” What is this “pink eye?”

Technically, it is called conjunctivitis which is an inflammation of the membrane lining the inner eyelid and eyeball itself. It gives the appearance a “road map” look or the whites of the eyes. And in more severe cases, the eyes swell shut with an oozing discharge. This gives the inflamed eye a pink look; hence the name pink eye.

Its reputation for being contagious is very much a fact. When the conjuctiva are inflamed with a virus, bacteria or protozoa, cross infection does become a serious factor. Little children especially tend to rub their eyes in an attempt to remove the discharge (water, mucousy, yellow or even green) and their little unwashed hands infect the other eye or worse yet another child’s eye while children touch and play with each other’s toys, etc.

Often pink eye is associated with ear infections (otitis media) usually on the same side. Sometimes a foreign body (piece of dirt, insect, etc) may not only have introduced the infection but also caused an abrasion across the cornea, the clear layer in front of the eye.

One virus, in particular, called herpes simplex is especially dangerous in its ability to destroy the cornea resulting in blindness. Hence, the doctor will usually want to examine your child to rule out a corneal abrasion and/or ear infection before treating. Flourosein dye with a Wood’s (black) light is used to visualize any unevenness of the eye’s otherwise smooth surface.

Only after determining the reason for the pink eye and that vision is not altered, can your doctor can prescribe the correct medication. However, the most important therapy is frequent eye washings with a soaking wet warm cotton ball every two-four hours. Cotton balls are better than washcloths as cotton balls can be discarded after each stroke. This frequent washing gets rid of the major debris and discharge and facilitates the tearing mechanism as well as creating a warm compress, which helps in most infections.

If ointment is available, your doctor may use this rather than drops as the contact time with the medicine is longer that with drops. The child cries less of the medicine out. Obviously using disposable towels, discouraging children not to rub their eyes and insisting on frequent hand washing are part of the treatment and prevention of contagion.

Less dramatic are viral, chemical or allergic conjuntivitises. At the newborn period, silver nitrate or erythromycin is applied to the eyes to kill off the gonococcal bacterium, whose conjunctivitis can cause blindness. The swelling which results from this procedure resolves spontaneously. Intense light (welding arcs, snow or sunlamps) can cause a painful conjunctivitis. Again removal of the source of irritation and rest restores the eyes’ normal function. A soothing steroid ointment usually provides relief.
In allergic conjunctivitis, the eyes are intensely itchy, watery and sometimes swollen. Pollen, dust or smoke are the usual culprits. Removing the allergen is the treatment of choice. Washing the eyes not only removes the allergen from the eye lashes but also soothes the eyes. Anti-inflammatory drops such as Opticrom or Patanol provided immense relief.

If there is pain in the eye itself, or if vision changes or if there is no improvement with medication, it is important that you see your doctor again. Conjunctivitis can be a sign of something more serious than just a pink eye.

Arteriosclerosis and its associated hypertension (high blood pressure) is also recognized as an inflammatory disease, whereby the cholesterol buildup inside the blood vessels creates a nidus for clot formation. Some of these clots can be massive causing a stroke if it occurs in a major artery of the brain. Other patients suffer mini-strokes when these clots happen to flake off the nidus of a clot. If this blockage is in the arteries that feed the heart muscle, the patient suffers a heart attack.

Because cholesterol metabolism so influences life span and the quality of life, most physicians are now doing routine cholesterol screening as part of health maintenance, especially, for those patients with strong family histories. This is particularly true for children in their teens with strong family histories because early intervention may mean a longer quality of life if that stroke or heart attack can be prevented.