MLB Weekly Digest September 3rd Edition - NGSC Sports
Remedies For Pink Eye
Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, a thin tissue that lines the inside of your eyelids and covers the white part of the eyes. The conjunctiva keeps your eyeballs moist. When it's infected, the blood vessels swell and turn the white part of your eye bright red.
Pink eye symptoms will vary based on the type of inflammation, but can include:
Pink eye can appear in just one eye or it may affect both. The condition usually isn't painful, but it can definitely be uncomfortable. Different types of inflammation lead to pink eye. The three main types are:
Viral
Viral inflammation can occur when you get a cold, the flu, or a respiratory infection. It begins in one eye and spreads to the other within a few days. Eye discharge has a watery consistency.
Bacterial
Bacterial pink eye creates the crusty discharge that makes your eyelashes stick together. Your eye will be red and might feel itchy. This type is highly contagious and can spread for up to 48 hours after starting antibiotics to treat the infection.
Allergic
If both of your eyes are red, swollen, tearing up, and itchy, the culprit is most likely seasonal allergies.
Remedies and Treatments for Pink EyeNot all forms of pink eye are contagious or require medical care. These prescription and at-home remedies can help alleviate symptoms for the various types of conjunctivitis:
Eye Drops
Over-the-counter (OTC) eye drops can alleviate dryness and itchiness. You can buy artificial tears formulated to lubricate your eyes. Avoid brands that reduce redness, as this can lead to more irritation.
Cold or Warm Compress
Place a clean washcloth in cool or lukewarm water and let it soak for a minute. Wring out the cloth, and press it gently onto one or both eyes. If just one eye is infected, keep the compress away from the healthy eye. Apply the compress several times a day.
Prescription Treatments for Pink Eye
Bacterial conjunctivitis is treated with antibiotic eye drops or an ointment. This medication helps clear the infection, reduce eye complications, and prevent you from spreading pink eye to other people. A typical course of treatment lasts from five to seven days. Other therapies include:
Mild forms of bacterial pink eye often improve within two to five days without antibiotics. However, the infection can last for up to two weeks, so it's important to talk to your doctor to determine the best course of treatment.
To prevent future infections, throw away contaminated soft contact lenses and eye makeup. Rigid contact lenses should be disinfected or replaced.
When to See a DoctorMake an appointment to see your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms:
Pink Eye in Children
Pink eye occurs in both adults and children and is a common reason why kids miss school. Here are some ways to help prevent infection:
Call your doctor if you suspect that your child has pink eye. Newborns with symptoms of pink eye need immediate medical care.
Your Guide To The Best Eye Drops For Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)
Pink eye treatment varies depending on the type of conjunctivitis. Eye drops, ointments or oral medications can all be used depending on the cause.
Allergic ConjunctivitisAllergens like pollen, dust, pet dander and other environmental triggers can cause allergic conjunctivitis—a non-contagious form of pink eye that causes watery eyes, itching and burning. Your medical provider may prescribe one or a combination of medications to combat your symptoms.
The most common medications for allergic conjunctivitis include:
Home remedies for relief from allergic conjunctivitis include:
Infectious conjunctivitis refers to pink eye caused by a virus or bacteria—both can pass easily from person to person. However, treatment of infectious conjunctivitis doesn't always require medication.
For bacterial conjunctivitis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotic eye drops or ointment to kill the infection-causing bacteria. Antibiotic eye drops that may be prescribed include:
Antibiotic ointments that may be prescribed for bacterial conjunctivitis include:
Antibiotics, though, won't help viral pink eye because the infection is caused by a virus. "Pink eye often occurs in tandem with an upper respiratory infection and often will get better without any treatment once the respiratory condition improves," says Robert Gold, M.D., president of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and senior partner of Eye Physicians of Central Florida in Orlando.
The infection has to run its course, but your doctor may suggest lubricating eye drops or ointment to soothe irritation and make you more comfortable. "Over-the-counter artificial tears can make the eyes feel more comfortable," explains Dr. Gold.
Antibiotic eye drops do not work to cure viral conjunctivitis. But "if there is evidence of a bacterial infection often associated with yellow or green discharge (drainage)," explains Dr. Gold, "antibiotic eye drops may be prescribed by your primary care doctor, ophthalmologist or optometrist."
The following home remedies may help relieve symptoms of viral or bacterial pink eye:
Chemical conjunctivitis is an eye inflammation due to exposure to a chemical irritant such as chlorine or smoke. Treatment for chemical conjunctivitis typically involves flushing the eyes and using lubricating eye drops to soothe the discomfort.
"Chemical injury to the ocular surface requires immediate attention by an eye doctor," says Saleha Munir, O.D., an optometrist at the University of Maryland Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
According to Dr. Munir, those who present with chemical conjunctivitis should:
Antibiotic drops may be prescribed for chemical conjunctivitis when there's a risk for "super-infection," explains Dr. Munir, which is a secondary infection caused by bacteria.
Everything You Should Know About Eye Herpes
Eye herpes, also known as ocular herpes, is a condition of the eye caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
The most common type of herpetic eye infection is called epithelial keratitis. It affects the cornea, which is the clear front portion of your eye.
In its mild form, eye herpes causes:
HSV of the deeper layers of the cornea — known as the cornea stroma — can cause severe tissue damage, chronic inflammation, and scarring, all of which can contribute to vision loss.
In fact, eye herpes is the most common cause of blindness associated with cornea damage in the United States and the most common source of contagious blindness in the Western world.
Both mild and severe eye herpes can be treated with antiviral medication, however.
And with prompt treatment, HSV can be kept under control and damage to the cornea minimized.
Typical symptoms of eye herpes include:
In many cases, herpes affects only one eye.
Eye herpes vs. ConjunctivitisYou may mistake eye herpes for conjunctivitis, which is known more commonly as pink eye. Both conditions may be caused by a virus, though conjunctivitis can also be caused by:
An experienced eye doctor can establish the correct diagnosis by collecting a thorough medical history and by performing a detailed eye examination. Careful slit lamp biomicroscopy with the use of a topical inert dye will unveil active herpetic lesions.
A sterile cotton swab can be used to collect a sample for laboratory culture. If you have ocular herpes, the culture will test positive for type 1 HSV (HSV-1). Receiving a prompt, correct diagnosis can help you receive the appropriate treatment.
The most common type of ocular herpes is epithelial keratitis. In this type, the virus is active in the thin outermost layer of cells covering the cornea, known as the corneal epithelium.
As mentioned, HSV can also affect deeper layers of the cornea, known as the stroma. This type of eye herpes is known as stromal keratitis.
Stromal keratitis is more serious than epithelial keratitis because over time and repeated outbreaks, it can damage your cornea enough to require corneal transplantation.
Eye herpes is caused by an HSV transmission to the eyes and eyelids. It's estimated that up to 90 percent of adults have been exposed to HSV-1 by age 50.
When it comes to eye herpes, HSV-1 affects these parts of the eye:
Unlike genital herpes (usually associated with HSV-2), most cases of ocular herpes aren't sexually transmitted.
Rather, it most commonly happens after another body part — typically your mouth, in the form of cold sores — has already been affected by HSV in the past.
Once you're living with HSV, it can't be completely eradicated from your body. The virus can lie dormant for a while, then reactivate from time to time. This means that even though the initial ocular herpes infection resolved with treatment, it can still recur over time due to viral reactivation.
The risk of transmitting the virus to another person from an affected eye is low, however. Antiviral medications help reduce transmission of HSV during an outbreak.
Estimates vary, but approximately 24,000 new cases of eye herpes are diagnosed every year in the United States, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Eye herpes tends to be slightly more common in men than in women.
If you have symptoms of eye herpes, see an ophthalmologist or an optometrist. These are both doctors who specialize in eye health. Early treatment may improve your outlook.
To diagnose eye herpes, your doctor will ask you detailed questions about your symptoms, including when they started and whether you've experienced similar symptoms in the past.
Your doctor will do a thorough eye exam to evaluate your vision, sensitivity to light, and eye movements.
They'll put eye drops in your eyes to dilate (widen) the iris, too. That helps your doctor see the condition of the retina in the back of your eye.
Your doctor may perform a fluorescein eye stain test. During the test, your doctor will instill an inert orange dye, called fluorescein, onto the outer surface of your eye.
With the use of safe, near-ultraviolet light fluorescein highlights areas of the cornea where the epithelium is unhealthy or absent. These defects produce a familiar stellate pattern on the cornea called a 'dendrite' that can be viewed with the slit-lamp biomicroscope.
Your doctor may take a sample of cells from your eye surface to check for HSV if the diagnosis is unclear. A blood test to check for antibodies from past exposure to HSV isn't very helpful for diagnosis because most people have been exposed to HSV at some point in life.
If your doctor determines you have eye herpes, you'll immediately start taking prescription antiviral medication.
The treatment differs somewhat depending on whether you have epithelial keratitis (the milder form) or stromal keratitis (the more damaging form).
Epithelial keratitis treatmentHSV in the surface layer of the cornea usually subsides on its own within a few weeks.
If you promptly take antiviral medication, it can help minimize cornea damage and vision loss. Your doctor will recommend antiviral eye drops or ointment or oral antiviral drugs.
A common treatment is the oral medication acyclovir (Zovirax). Acyclovir may be a good treatment option because it doesn't come with some of the potential side effects of the eye drops, such as watery eyes or itching.
Your doctor may also gently brush the surface of your cornea with a cotton swab after applying numbing drops to remove diseased cells. This procedure is known as debridement.
Stromal keratitis treatmentThis type of HSV attacks the deeper middle layers of the cornea, called the stroma. Stromal keratitis is more likely to result in corneal scarring and loss of vision.
In addition to antiviral therapy, taking steroid (anti-inflammatory) eye drops helps reduce swelling in the stroma.
If you're treating your eye herpes with eye drops, you may need to put them in as often as every 2 hours, depending on the medication your doctor prescribes. You'll need to keep applying the drops for up to 2 weeks.
With oral acyclovir, you'll take the pills five times per day.
You should see improvement in 2 to 5 days. The symptoms should be gone within 2 to 3 weeks.
After a first bout of eye herpes, about 20 percent of people will have an additional outbreak in the following year. After multiple recurrences, your doctor may recommend taking antiviral medication daily.
This is because multiple outbreaks damage your cornea. Complications include:
If the cornea is damaged enough to cause significant vision loss, you may need a corneal transplant (keratoplasty).
Unfortunately, for some individuals, ocular herpes is not curable, but you can still minimize potential damage to your eyesight during outbreaks.
At the first sign of symptoms, call your doctor. The sooner you treat your eye herpes, the less chance there'll be significant damage to your cornea.
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