With allergies acting up, you may find that your eyes are abnormally sensitive and often turning red or watery. Here’s a reminder from your Cincinnati eye doctor: If it’s swollen and pink, it could be much worse than an allergy reaction. Conjunctivitis, commonly known as pinkeye, causes inflammation and redness over the clear membranes of the white part of your eye. It is typically caused by a virus or bacterial infection, but chemicals, allergies, and other diseases can also cause it to present.
Be careful! If you or someone you love has pinkeye, remember that it is highly contagious! It spreads easily without proper hand washing or through coughing and sneezing, like the average virus. Children diagnosed with pinkeye need to stay out of school or daycare for a short time until a doctor has advised them they are no longer contagious.
The main symptom is an obvious redness of one or both eyes. This may also spread to a red, swollen eyelid as well. Lots of tearing, itchiness, or burning symptoms are also associated with conjunctivitis. Some people experience crustiness buildup or a heightened sensitivity to light. If symptoms are severe enough to cause pain to light, a doctor needs to be visited immediately to test whether the infection has spread beyond the conjunctiva.
If promptly detected and properly treated, pink eye is unlikely to cause long-term eye or vision damage. Persistent pinkeye can be a sign of an underlying illness in the body, such as lupus or Crohn’s disease. Be sure to see a doctor immediately upon first signs of any symptoms. Bacterial pinkeye has treatment options like antibiotic eye drops, ointment, or pills to clear the infection. Viral pinkeye may not have treatment, and may have to be waited out for up to a week to clear up on its own.
If your vision has been affected or if you require eye care visit Cincinnati eye doctor, Charles Breen, ophthalmologist, at 7370 Turfway Rd. 3rd Floor, St. Elizabeth Medical Office Building, Florence, KY 41042.
Are your eyes bigger than your stomach every Thanksgiving? Turns out, you’re benefitting both each time you gobble down a traditional Turkey Day meal. From the main dish- that big, beautiful turkey that spends the entire day cooking to perfection in your oven- to the five, six, or maybe even ten side dishes that cover your dining room table, more health benefits are waiting to be uncovered than you may have ever expected!
With smartphones, tablets and e-readers becoming increasingly prevalent in society, it is becoming even more important to visit your Cincinnati eye doctor on a regular basis in order to protect your vision from the small screens we are staring at each day.
Childhood is an important time in development, especially the development of the eyes. Throughout childhood many eye problems develop and if left untreated can lead to reduced eyesight or serious eye problems in the child’s future. Here are some ways to protect your child’s vision:
Have you ever been sitting around when out of nowhere you saw what appeared to be a cloud or a flash of light in your eyes? Don’t worry! These can be a sign of eye floaters and flashes that in most cases are harmless to your vision.
Our eyes are used to regular production of tears to lubricate the eyes and moisten the surface of the eye. Our tears are also necessary to clean the eyes by washing out dust and other debris that may have got into our eyes throughout the day. When there becomes an imbalance in the tear-flow system of the eye, dry eye results. Dry eye can also result from not enough tears being produced by the glands near the eye or if the tears chemical composition makes them evaporate too quickly.
Have you thought about having corrective eye surgery?
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