After the onset of the northeast monsoon, cases of conjunctivitis, commonly known as Madras eye are increasing in Tamil Nadu, said Ma Subramanian, minister of health and family welfare department during the press meet on Monday, November 21. He pointed out that the cases are being registered since the first week of September. In Chennai, the government runs 10 eye hospitals, and 80 to 100, on average, visit these hospitals to get treatment for Madras eye infection, he added.
According to him, ophthalmology centers in 90 government hospitals including government medical college hospitals and district government hospitals, receive cases between 4000 and 4500 every day. Nearly 1.5 lakh people got treatment for conjunctivitis since the start of the northeast monsoon, he said. The health department noted that most of the infections were caused by enteroviruses and adenoviruses after some samples from the patients in Egmore hospital were tested.
“It is easy to spread with others. The people who are infected with this infection should isolate themselves and avoid going to crowded places including offices, educational institutions, and shopping malls for three to four days,” Subramanian said on Monday. He also warned against self-medication by patients for conjunctivitis. “Patients should not do self-medication and should get prescribed treatment from the doctors. The patients should not use the same eye drops that were prescribed to one of the family members, who got infected with conjunctivitis for the first time in their family. The rate of infection will remain the same till the first week of December and it will subside during the second week of the coming month,” he added.
Speaking to TNM, Dr Srinivasan G Rao, Senior Ophthalmologist, and Regional Head – Clinical Services, at Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital, said the infections cannot spread by seeing an infected person. "The parents who are taking care of their children who have been infected with conjunctivitis, have to wash their hands. And patients with infections should wash their hands after contact with their faces and have to keep their things separately," he said. He was in agreement with Subramanian on the issue of self-medication for conjunctivitis.
They should check with an ophthalmologist because the infections are caused by various viral strains. The infection will be at its peak for 4 to 7 days but will subside after that. However, some viral strains infect the cornea which will produce Superficial Punctate Keratitis which causes blurred vision, he said. He advised patients to get treatment from the ophthalmologist and people who have blurred vision due to the Madras eye should check with doctors frequently as it will subside after 4 weeks. "If any person gets infected with conjunctivitis in this season, they cannot get re-infected in the same season. The new infection will occur next year with a new strain," he added.
It is to be noted that the common symptoms of conjunctivitis are red eyes, sticky discharge, irritation, watering, and sensitivity to light. But when the cornea - the layer on the black part of the eye - is infected, it can lead to blurred vision. The viral infection further causes swelling and inflammation among some patients which take a longer time to heal.