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On 02 Sep 2023, Seniors Today hosted their weekly Health Live Webinar with Dr Savita Bhat, a Senior Consultant in Glaucoma, Cataract and Medical Retina at the Chellaram Hospitals, Diabetes Care and Multi speciality. And she spoke on and answered questions about Conjunctivitis, Infections & Eye Care for Seniors
Dr Savita Bhat is a Senior Consultant in Glaucoma, Cataract and Medical Retina at the Chellaram Hospitals, Diabetes Care and Multispeciality .
She completed her MS (Ophthalmology) from Christian Medical College, Vellore and worked as a Consultant at the Giridhar Eye Institute after her Medical Retina Fellowship.
She has published extensively in the field of Glaucoma, with several publications in leading journals, including the American Journal of Ophthalmology and the Journal of Glaucoma (USA) and Retina. She has contributed articles on diabetes in books.
She has won best research paper awards at the national and state levels on five occasions, including the Best Neuro-ophthalmolgy Research Paper at the national level in January 2000, and the prestigious Siva Reddy Research Award in the year 2009.
Dr Bhat regularly takes part in lectures, instruction courses and workshops at both regional and national levels. Her paper was accepted for presentation in Asia Pacific Association of ophthalmology, Guangzhou 2015.She has participated in world glaucoma congress 2021 and Asia pacific glaucoma congress 2021
Dr Savita Bhat has also participated in multinational clinical trials in ophthalmology. She has also participated in several multinational clinical trials in glaucoma.
Conjunctivitis
The white of our eye, which is called the sclera, is covered with a transparent layer which is otherwise not visible/ difficult to differentiate, this transparent coat is called the conjunctiva.
Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva which makes it pink and also visible.
Causes of conjunctivitis:
- Viral
- Bacterial
- Allergic
Viral conjunctivitis is more common out of the three.
The most commonly affecting virus is adenovirus.
Ways to identify an infected eye/ conjunctivitis:
- Redness of the eye, which is also called “pink eye”
- Discharge from the eye- watery in case of viral conjunctivitis, yellow/ whitish yellow discharge- seen in case of bacterial infection.
- Sticky during the morning, with stuck eyelashes which might need some washing before you can open them
- Heaviness in the eye
- Swollen eye- this needs to be distinguished from a swollen eye gland. This is also seen when the conjunctivitis has not been treated timely and appropriately
- Blurring of vision, if the conjunctivitis is nit adequately and properly treated with antibiotic and/ or antiviral ointments
Modes of transmission and spread:
- Touch/ contact
- Self inoculation by touching an infected persons eye and then touching/ rubbing your own with an infected hand
- Air contact- in case of bacterial conjunctivitis, which is also why people used to dawn dark/ black glasses so the air contact is minimised.
- Tear fluid/ discharge form the eye
- Fomite spread
Bacterial conjunctivitis spreads more quickly and widely as compared to viral conjunctivitis. But it also was easier to manage and used to resolve sooner.
Prevention of conjunctivitis:
- if you have someone working with you/ around who has a red eye, teary eyes, eyes with discharge, you suspect an infection- send such individuals back home so they can get it treated and avoid further spread of the infection.
- Wash your hands before you touch your eyes
- Do not use/ share articles such as pillows, sheets with individuals who are infected
- Use dark glasses as far as possible, in case the infection is severe
- Use tissues as opposed to recyclable cloth, handkerchief, towels- when the eye is infected
An eye infection can also be followed/ accompanied by a throat infection, the reverse is also possible. This is because there are channels through your eyes which are present next to your nose which drain into the throat. If you have a throat infection which is viral, those channels can get blocked and sometimes they can percolate into your eyes.
Hordeolum/ Stye
Another common eye infection is the eye stye.
This appears as a small bumpy area over the lid, this is called a stye or a hordeolum. This is also commonly encountered eye infection.
This infection pertains to the eyelid margin. This is because there are several glands which are present on the margins of the eyelid, which are placed perpendicular to the eyelash. These glands usually contain oil glands which protects the tear film which is laced over the surface of the eye.
These oil gland ducts can get blocked, infected and because of the blockage of the secretion, these secretions tend to stagnate inside the eye margin itself.
It is an extremely painful condition.
This is commonly seen in elderly, diabetic patients, patients who have a change in the cylindrical eye glass power- such patient can also have recurrent stye.
Children can also present with recurrent stye/ hordeolum.
If you have stye a, it needs to be treated with antibiotic eyedrops, and most importantly with fomentation which helps bring the infection and swelling down.
Once it has been treated, the change in the cylindrical power of the eye can be addressed and corrected.
Mebomian Gland Dysfunction
Mebomian gland dysfunction/ MGD/ Mebomitis is the infection of a special kind of gland in the eye, called the mebomian glands. And its infection is what caused MGD, this occurs because of infection/ improper function of the mebomian gland duct.
These infections present as bumpy, yellow coloured fluid pockets over the eyelids.
This is a very common cause of watery and irritating eyes in the elderly.
The treatment for MGD includes taking good care of the eye margins which includes fomentation for 10-15 minutes in the morning and night.
Blepharitis
Blepharitis is the infection of the skin of the eyelid margin.
This can get affected in 2 ways and is can be called:
- Squamous blepharitis/ Non Ulcerative blepharitis: dandruff like scaling of the eyelid skin margin is visible
- Ulcerative blepharitis: This is more sinister and can cause ulcer formation, yellow crusting. This requires more attention and may take more time to resolve
Both of these types are treatable.
Keratitis/ Corneal Ulcers
This is an infection of the cornea.
Different kinds of microorganisms can cause this infection:
- Virus
- Bacteria
- Protozoa
- Acantemoeba
Very common in diabetic patients
