The “Red Eye”He was hospitalized for fever and was recovering. Suddenly one fine morning, he developed a bright red patch in his right eye. This was alarming for him and his family. After check-up, he was assured that this was a small bleeding from blood vessels below conjunctiva, i.e. the protective mucosa over eyes and below eyelids This kind of bleed known as subconjunctival haemorrhage, subsides spontaneously within a week. Only treatment if at all needed is some ice compression to prevent aggravation of the bleeding. Such bleeding can occur due to lifting or pushing something heavy or coughing, sneezing, e.t.c., any strenuous activity. It also occurs due to high blood pressure. Though alarming when observed, but it is a quiet harmless condition. If there is sudden redness in one or both eyes, associated with itching, watery and or sticky discharge, it indicates infection and inflammation of the conjunctiva known as acute mucopurulent conjunctivits. This happens to be the one of the most common cause for a red eye among more than 600 other causes. The causative germs can be bacteria, viruses, mycobacteria, Chlamydia, e.t.c. Acute mucopurulent conjunctivitis commonly occurs in people with poor hygiene regarding eyes and also due to overcrowding as in poor people living in crowded conditions. But the rich are also not exempt. Recurrent conjunctivitis can occur due to poor hygiene and also due to a weak eye sight. It happens because; somebody with a weak eye sight tends to rub his eyes frequently to see better, thus inducing infection. Antibiotics taken systemically in form of tablets or put locally as eye drops completely cure this condition.Conjunctivitis can also occur due to allergy to dust or other potential allergens in the atmosphere. The difference being, that here there is redness and itching of the eyes but no discharge as occurs in mucopurulent conjunctivitis. Allergic conjunctivitis is recurrent in occurence. A person gets a red eye, whenever he or she is exposed to the potential allergen. Apart from this, irritation of the eyes by dust, shampoo, e.t.c. also causes redness of the eyes. But in this situation, removal of the offending substance clears the redness in a short time. A red eye is also the result of direct trauma to the eyes. Everybody is familiar with the redness of eyes which occurs due to other medical conditions like acute cold, severe headache, high fever, e.t.c. In these conditions, redness of the eyes is one of the manifestations of the systemic illness. It cures spontaneously with cure of the condition. Inflammation of the sclera, cornea, e.t.c., other parts of the eyes also causes acute onset of redness with intense pain in the affected eye. These conditions require urgent medical intervention; otherwise it can affect eye sight. Panopthalmitis, i.e. inflammation of the entire eye, also causes redness with much pain. This is a very unfortunate situation as it often leads to blindness. Acute glaucoma is an emergency condition which causes acute redness of the affected eye and intense pain. This occurs due to sudden rise in the intraocular pressure, i.e. pressure of the fluid within the eyes. Unless treated promptly, the affected eye becomes blind. It is good to maintain good hygiene of the eyes in the first place to avoid developing any likely infection or inflammation of the eyes. Washing eyes with cold water, 2 or 3 times every day is a good measure to keep the eyes clean as well as cool. Those having any visual troubles, should get their eye sight tested and wear eye glasses of a suitable number for correction of the defect. While moving out, it is prudent to use sun glasses as they protect the eyes from irritation due to strong sunlight, dust and other potential allergens and irritating substances. But in spite of these precautions if somebody gets a, “red eye”, particularly in associated with pain, it would be good to get the eyes checked and treated in time. E-mail-rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk
