Pink eye outbreak, effective prevention

According to the reporter, currently the pink eye epidemic is spreading in the community in many provinces in the Central and Southern regions. Accordingly, in the past month, many cases of pink eye have appeared in Ha Tinh province.

Medical facilities have also recorded an increase in the number of patients with pink eye coming for examination. Ophthalmologists say that this year's pink eye epidemic is spreading rapidly, the rate of keratitis after pink eye is higher, and it takes longer to heal.

Effective prevention of migraines picture 1 — Do not be subjective when children have pink eye (photo source Internet).

Therefore, people should proactively prevent infection and if infected, pay attention to eye care and proper treatment.

At Ha Tinh Eye Hospital, since the beginning of August, nearly 1,000 people have been seen due to acute conjunctivitis (pink eye), including 25 cases that had to be hospitalized due to complications of keratitis.

At Saigon Ha Tinh Eye Hospital, from the beginning of September until now, on average, about 10 to 15 outpatients with pink eye are admitted per day, a higher increase than before.

In Binh Duong , from the beginning of 2023 to now, the whole Binh Duong province has recorded about 2,300 cases of pink eye (conjunctivitis), an increase of 58% over the same period, with 405 cases recorded in August alone. According to the assessment of the health sector of Binh Duong province, pink eye is at risk of breaking out into an epidemic in this locality.

In Binh Phuoc , pink eye is also becoming more complicated. Since September 8, 11 out of 41 kindergartens and primary schools in the area have 260 children suffering from pink eye.

As of September 11, 27 out of 41 schools with 1,401 students had contracted the disease. By noon on September 12, the entire Dong Xoai city had recorded 38 out of 41 schools with 554 classes and 2,450 students suffering from pink eye.

The number of schools in Dong Xoai city with pink eye cases is more than 90%. The number of primary school students with the disease is more than 70%.

In Ho Chi Minh City, according to the Department of Health, hospitals' quick reports on the number of visits to the hospital since the beginning of the year have reached more than 72,000. Notably, the number of cases in recent days has tended to increase, of which about 1/3 of the total cases are school-age children.

Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital alone receives and treats about 1,500 cases of pink eye each week.

Notably, in the first 8 months of the year, the city recorded more than 1,000 cases of complications with serious problems such as: keratitis, corneal ulcers, corneal scars, secondary infections, vision loss...

According to Dr. Le Cong Duc - Director of Ha Tinh Eye Hospital, although pink eye is an acute disease with severe symptoms and is contagious, it is usually benign. If diagnosed and treated promptly, it will be cured and leave few sequelae.

However, in some cases, despite being detected and treated promptly, the disease still causes complications of keratitis, even corneal ulcers (the black part of the eyeball).

This is a serious complication and often occurs in the following cases: People with weak resistance (elderly, children), people who do not comply with treatment well, severe cases of acute conjunctivitis (severe eyelid swelling, pseudomembrane)….

Currently there is no specific anti-Adenovirus drug, so in addition to removing the pseudomembrane, the patient needs to be treated with eye antibiotics to prevent bacterial superinfection and can use anti-inflammatory eye drugs if the inflammatory reaction is strong.

To take care of your eyes and prevent the spread of pink eye, everyone needs to: clean eye discharge at least twice a day with a damp tissue or cotton pad, then throw away the tissue, do not reuse it.

Do not use eye drops from an infected eye in the healthy eye. Avoid dust and smoke, wear sunglasses. When a child has an eye infection, it usually affects one eye first. Parents and family members need to take good care of the child to avoid infecting the other eye.

Lay the child on one side, put eye drops in the eye and use a medical gauze to immediately wipe away any discharge and tears (do the same for adults). Avoid hugging sick children and sleep alone.

"Before and after cleaning the eyes and using eye drops, wash your hands thoroughly with soap or antiseptic solution. Patients need to rest, isolate themselves, and take medication as prescribed by the doctor. Do not buy eye drops on your own.

Do not use other people's eye drops. Do not apply leaves such as betel leaves, mulberry leaves to the eyes... Especially, when there are signs of pink eye, you must go to a medical facility for examination, consultation and treatment," added Dr. Le Cong Duc - Director of Ha Tinh Eye Hospital.

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