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Eye Consultants

Different Types of Eye Infections and Ways to Avoid Them

Eye infections are very common. If you’ve ever suffered from an eye infection, chances are that you’re going to get one or two more in your life. The only way to avoid them is to first understand what they are and how you get them. Although every eye clinic in Dubai to offer is qualified to treat these infections, you should still visit the best one for you. Whether it’s cataracts, glaucoma, conjunctivitis, it’s essential that you understand how these infections affect you. Only then will you be able to prevent them.

Let’s take a look at the various types of eye infections and their prevention:

Types of Eye Infections

Eye infections can be of various natures. Here’s a list of some of the most commonly occurring ones that you are likely to come across:

1.Conjunctivitis

Often known as pink eye, conjunctivitis is one of the most common eye infections. You contract this infection when the outermost membrane surrounding the eyeball becomes infected with bacteria or any virus. This causes the eyes to turn pink or red. Patients are likely to feel inflammation in their eyes as well.

Types of Conjunctivitis

Pink eye can be of many types as well. One of the most common and contagious types is viral conjunctivitis. As the name suggests, you get it from a virus. Secondly, bacterial conjunctivitis is another common type that mostly occurs in children. Gonococcal conjunctivitis occurs in newborn infants and teenagers, particularly who are sexually active.

Chlamydial conjunctivitis is a type of pink eye that has mostly to do with another genital infection and doesn’t occur alone. The last type of conjunctivitis is the allergic-type that occurs when allergens such as pollen, dust or even pet dander enter the eye.

Symptoms

One of the most common ways you can get conjunctivitis is from the chlorine in swimming pools. Other chemicals that you get exposed to can also result in pink eye conditions. Symptoms for pink eye include continuous or intermittent discharge. Moreover, patients can also report having their eyelids crusted together when they wake up. The most obvious symptom of pink eye that gives the disease its name is the reddening of the whites of the eye. One can also feel an itch in one or both of the eyes. Excessive tears running down the eyes or the feeling of having a grain of sand stuck in the eye are also common.

2.Keratitis

The cornea is the transparent layer covering your pupil and the iris. When this layer gets infected with a viral, bacterial or parasitic infection or sustains a serious injury, the consequences can include keratitis. The most obvious condition of keratitis is the swelling of the cornea. Keratitis, unlike the pink eye, isn’t always contagious.

Types of Keratitis

Keratitis can exist in the form of a bacterial infection that results from wearing lenses infected with bacteria. Fungal keratitis is another common type that exists in most patients along with viral keratitis which can be transmitted to other people as well.

You are most likely to contract keratitis if you have another disease that compromises your immune system. Living in warm and humid areas is another reason why people develop keratitis. Furthermore, corticosteroid eye drops sometimes play a role in developing keratitis as well. Lastly, if you sustain an injury and have chemicals or plants get in your eye, keratitis can be developed.

Symptoms

If you experience redness or swelling in your eye followed by pain and discomfort, you might have keratitis. Abnormal discharge of tears from the eyes can be due to keratitis. Patients have also reported having their vision blurred along with increased sensitivity to light. Another common symptom that comes with keratitis is the sensation of having something stuck in your eye.

3.Endophthalmitis

Candida fungal infections are the most common cause of endophthalmitis. Basically, it’s a severe inflammation of the eyes that can be due to bacterial or fungal infections.

The most common way to develop endophthalmitis is when you get a cataract surgery performed with complicated consequences. You can avoid this by getting cataract surgery in Dubai from a trustworthy and reliable clinic.

Symptoms

Some of the most common symptoms for this infection include mild to severe pain along with partial loss in or blurred vision. Furthermore, patients have also been found to display redness and swollen eyes and eyelids. In addition to this, continuous or intermittent discharge from the eyes is another symptom to watch out for especially after surgeries.

Prevention

As it’s clear from above-mentioned conditions, most of the infections have mutually related symptoms. For the untrained common person, it’s impossible to distinguish between one or more kinds of infections and further distinguish the specific type of infection. All one can do is to book an appointment with our Eye Specialist experts at Eye Consultants Center