Peter
April, May, June, and July are the peak months for allergic conjunctivitis because allergens such as pollen, grass dust, and mold will reach the highest concentrations in the environment. Besides, the temperature and humidity fluctuate strongly.
Morphology of allergic conjunctivitis
Ina hot and humid tropical countries like ours, the rate of this disease is very high. In addition, up to 90% of patients will have allergic diseases in other organs such as allergic rhinitis – sinusitis, asthma; patients often have itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, difficulty breathing… Only 10% of the ‘lucky’ 10% have a simple eye allergy.
Clinical manifestations of allergic conjunctivitis include: seasonal conjunctivitis, spring conjunctivitis, allergy conjunctivitis, giant papillary conjunctivitis:
Seasonalconjunctivitis is most common and tends to progress to year-round, chronic conjunctivitis.
Springconjunctivitis is the most persistent and difficult to treat.
-Allergy conjunctivitis accompanied by allergy dermatitis
Giant papillary inflammation occurs again in contact lens wearers.
It is special that allergic conjunctivitis often accompanies dry eyes. The pathological relationship between them is quite complex; what is the cause and which is the effect is still controversial. Therefore, the subjective manifestations of allergic conjunctivitis are diverse: transient blurred vision; burning sensation; difficulty opening eyes in the morning; feeling unsettled when wearing contact lenses; watery eyes; profuse rust; itchy, irritated eyes; gritty feeling in the eye; afraid of the light. 80% of patients complain of unbearable itchy eyes, compulsive rubbing, or scratching. This is the key point in the diagnosis.
When examining, eye doctors can detect lesions from mild to severe depending on the clinical form, complications, or not. Mildconjunctival edema or focal conjunctival edema, mainly lower eyelids, may have conjunctival edema. More severe is edema of the entire conjunctival area, with inflammatory papillae.
The cornea may be inflamed at the margins, with neovascularization, and sterile shield-shaped ulcers. Complications cause vision loss only due to scar or ulceration of the cornea. But uncontrolled drug use poses a multitude of dangers to the eyes, sometimes incurable:corticosteroid-induced glaucoma, cataracts, opportunistic infections, or a combination.
Treatment of allergic conjunctivitis
Treatment of allergic conjunctivitis is not based on medication alone, but on a holistic, persistent, and sometimes expensive, solution.
Environmental solutions
-Avoid contact with allergens
–Learn about geography to see what allergens your area has, so stay indoors during the season with many allergens
–Ability to watch the weather: the windy season makes the allergens stronger; the rainy season washes away, pollen, dirt can ease the disease, do not get up too early because the pollen concentration is very high at the beginning of the day
–Ability to wear protective eyewear, good personal hygiene, do not rub your eyes; be careful when using chemicals and cosmetics
-Clean the air, do not abuse contact lenses.
Medicinesolution
Medicines help you live more comfortably with your allergies, not solve the root of the problem. The majority of patients are satisfied with antihistamines and mastocyte stabilizers. Combined with artificial tears of all kinds, eyeball lubricant products are always the right choice for this disease, both treating allergies, and preventing dry eyes.
Corticosteroidproducts should not be used continuously or for a long time; in addition, they must always be cautious of their complications such as glaucoma, and cataracts. Very few patients require systemic medication unless they have concomitant rhinosinusitis or asthma.
The information provided in this article is for reference only and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment.
