Symptoms of conjunctivitis

Eyes are a very important part of our body. We need to understand a large part of the world through our eyes, so we must pay attention to various eye diseases. Conjunctivitis is a common eye disease in clinical practice, but many people don’t know much about conjunctivitis. In fact, the "pink eye" we often talk about is a type of conjunctivitis. So what are the symptoms of conjunctivitis?

Although conjunctivitis does not directly affect the patient's vision, if it is not treated in time, the complications caused by conjunctivitis will also affect vision. Understanding the symptoms of conjunctivitis will help everyone to detect and treat conjunctivitis in time. Common symptoms of conjunctivitis are:

(a) Conjunctival congestion

It can be caused by a variety of factors, including infection, chemical fumes, wind, ultraviolet radiation and long-term topical medications, and is the most common sign of acute conjunctivitis. The characteristic of conjunctival congestion is congestion of the surface blood vessels, which is more obvious in the dome and decreases towards the corneal margin. These surface blood vessels can move with the mechanical movement of the conjunctiva, and the congestion disappears after local application of epinephrine.

(ii) Conjunctival secretions

Common signs of various acute conjunctivitis, the discharge may be purulent, mucopurulent or serous. When bacteria invade the conjunctiva, they can cause a polymorphonuclear leukocyte reaction. Initially, the secretions are thin and serous. As the goblet cells secrete mucus and the number of inflammatory cells and necrotic epithelial cells increases, the secretions become mucous and purulent. The pathogens that most often cause purulent discharge are gonococci and meningococci; other pathogens commonly cause mucopurulent discharge. Because mucopurulent secretions can stick tightly to the eyelashes, causing the eyelid margins to stick together, patients may have difficulty opening their eyes when they wake up in the morning, suggesting possible bacterial infection or chlamydia infection. The discharge of allergic conjunctivitis is thick and stringy. The discharge from viral conjunctivitis is watery or serous.

(III) Nipple hyperplasia

A nonspecific sign of conjunctival inflammation. It is often seen in the palpebral conjunctiva, and has a flat appearance. When the papilla is small, it has a velvety appearance, and those at the edge of the cornea are mostly dome-shaped. Under physiological conditions, some large papillae can be seen at the upper edge of the palpebral conjunctiva after turning over the upper eyelid, which may be related to the fact that there are fewer diaphragm-like fixed structures in this area. The nipple is composed of wrinkles or protrusions of the hyperplastic and hypertrophic epithelium. Under the slit lamp, dilated capillaries can be seen in the center reaching the top and spreading out in a spoke-like manner. Red papillary conjunctivitis is mostly bacterial or chlamydial conjunctivitis. The conjunctival papillae of the upper eyelid are mainly seen in spring conjunctivitis and the irritation reaction of the conjunctiva to foreign bodies (such as sutures, corneal contact lenses, artificial corneas, etc.). When they also appear on the lower eyelid, it is often seen in allergic conjunctivitis.

The above is an introduction to some of the more common symptoms of conjunctivitis. In fact, the symptoms of conjunctivitis vary depending on the patient's physical condition and illness. After the symptoms of conjunctivitis appear, everyone must go to a regular hospital for examination and treatment in time.