Watching from a distance, it was obvious the little girl was not finding it easy playing with her doll because intermittently she stopped to scratch her red eyes. Her mother was told that she had allergic conjunctivitis and with time, the itching would stop.
For the past few months, there has been an increase in cases of red and itchy eyes, medically referred to as allergic conjunctivitis. Due to the delay in rainfall and increasing atmospheric temperature, the dry heat increases the ambient dust and combined with increased pollution and pollen, many people developed allergic conjunctivitis, which causes intense irritation and tearing in the eyes.
The thought of red eye causes anxiety in most parents. However, it is not an uncommon dilemma because it has various causes or precursors, including allergies, chemicals, dust, and germs. Usually eye doctors can determine what the cause of a red eye is by the way the eye looks and the symptoms produced.
An allergy is defined as an abnormal sensitivity to a substance normally tolerated and generally considered harmless such as pollen, dust mites, food, drugs or insect stings. This means that while some allergens are tolerated by most people, they can induce an allergic reaction in others.
Allergic conjunctivitis affect a large number of people, with a great majority developing red, itchy eyes, which affect their quality of work. It is usually a mild disease that can be easily treated. However, other forms of eye allergies can be dangerous enough to threaten eyesight.
Medically, allergic conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the thin membranes surrounding the eye, which are the conjunctivae. The conjunctivae line the eyelids and exposed part of the eyeball. They are part of the immune system and can become inflamed when exposed to any allergic trigger.
Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis is the most common and is caused by an overactive immune system. In sensitive people, the body mistakes harmless substances, such as mould or pollen, for germs and attacks them. But perennial allergic conjunctivitis, which is less common, but persists year round, is related to exposure to always-present triggers such as dust mites, animal dander, insect allergens and indoor mould spores.
Anyone can get an allergic conjunctivitis at any time in life. Usually, both eyes are usually affected and symptoms tend to develop quickly. The eyes are usually itchy, and the whites of the eyes look red or pink. A burning feeling may occur, but the eyes are not usually painful and the eyelids tend to swell. The eyes water more than usual, but do not become too gluey as in infective conjunctivitis. Vision is not affected. In severe cases, the conjunctiva, under the upper eyelids, may swell and look lumpy.
Ironically, “allergic conjunctivitis is the second most common eye disease that affects children in Nigerian environment,” said Professor Ayotunde Ajaiyeoba , a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State.
What is more, Professor Ajaiyeoba, stating that allergic conjunctivitis was preventable, declared that one out of every four children with allergic conjunctivitis turned out to develop asthma later in life.
Dr Gboyega Ajayi, consultant ophthalmologist, declaring that allergic conjunctivitis had no cure, explained that it could only be stopped by identifying what the allergy causing the reaction and affording such as much as possible it is.
According to him, “the logical thing to do is to try to withdraw from the allergy. But often, this is impossible. So, the logical thing is to moderate or prevent it from disturbing the child by prescribing appropriate medications.”
However, “many of the drugs that would help to modify the effect and severity of the allergy can also damage the eye. So, that is the reason parents have to be careful of abusing these eye medications. They should not just buy these medications on their own, thinking that because it worked days back, it will work again. It can, in fact, damage the eye”
“The eye doctor knows the reason for prescribing a particular eye medicine. There may be a reason for him to change it to another in the subsequent treatment.
“Most cases of individuals seen with damaged eye occurred due to abuse of eye medications that contain steroids in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis or other forms of conjunctivitis.
Ironically, he pointed out that many people abuse eye medications, not realising that “the stronger, the more effective and the cheaper the drug, the more dangerous the drug is to the eye.”
Dr Ajayi, who likened allergic conjunctivitis to “asthma of the eye”, assured that people need not be frightened by allergic conjunctivitis considering that it is sometimes seasonal and a mere change of environment might help reduce its incidence in some cases.
Source:tribune
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