Pink Eye In Flu Season: Symptoms, Causes, Dos And Don'ts Of Conjunctivitis; Expert Weighs In

Conjunctivitis, pink eye, infection, and inflammation in the eyes are common in the flu season. With a sudden shift in the weather and pollution, the common cold in this season often causes a spike in the number of patients. While one can take medicines for cold and cough, prevention and treatment of pink eye or conjunctivitis is a task.

Therefore, we spoke to Dr Rituraj Baruah, Senior Consultant, Ophthalmology, Max Multi Speciality Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi, to understand the dos and don’ts for patients with the common cold.

Symptoms Of Pink Eye Or Conjunctivitis

According to reports, viruses that cause COVID-19, the common cold, and the flu can also cause inflammation and infection in the eyes. The patient’s eye can turn pink or even red. 

A few other symptoms of this condition include,

• Discharge from eyes
• Itchiness
• Irritation

Causes For Pink Eye Or Conjunctivitis

There are two reasons for conjunctivitis - viral or bacterial. Viral often comes with watery discharge and itchiness. The condition can spread from one person to another as it is communicable. In the viral infection, both of your eyes can get infected and patients can even experience a burning sensation or redness in the eyes. 

Bacterial pink eye is often caused by injury or infection in the eye. For example, many people get bacterial pink eyes due to contact lenses. In such a case, people experience thick yellowish discharge along with blurry vision and pain. This condition usually remains confined to the eye and does not spread. 

Dos And Don’ts To Prevent Pink Eye Or Conjunctivitis

If you are suffering from pink eye, here are a couple of things you should do,

• Wash your hands first before touching your eyes and cleaning the discharge.
• Use new cotton or eye buds to remove the discharge (Know All Abotu Vaginal Discharge) around the infected area several times a day.
• The expert suggested using wet cotton balls so that the discharge wipes off easily without adding to pain or injury.
• Throw away the cotton and sanitise your hands immediately after cleaning your eyes.
• Wash pillow covers, bed sheets, towels, and napkins with hot water and detergent after you have recovered or stained any of the items. Wash hands after handling infected items.
• If you wear spectacles, you should clean them regularly. You can clean the lens with warm water and soap to ensure germs and bacteria are killed. 

Here are a couple of things you must avoid at any cost if you have a pink eye or conjunctivitis

• Do not run or touch your eyes frequently, except for cleaning with cotton balls. If your hands are dirty, it can worsen the condition, and the infection can spread rapidly.
• Avoid using the same eye drop for the infected eye and healthy eye. It will transfer the infection from the infected to the healthy one.
• When you experience discharge or redness in your eyes, you should not wear contact lenses because it can add to the infection.
• Do not use swimming pools in this condition because the germs in the water can worsen the condition, and will be infected for others as well.
• If your eyes are infected or you have conjunctivitis at home, you must avoid sharing towels, napkins, makeup brushes, cosmetics, etc. 

The pink eye needs to be examined by the doctor to ensure it gets treated properly. Dr Baruah suggested consulting an ophthalmologist to ensure that you get the right medicine for the eye and know the instructions to take care of it. A healthcare expert will also ensure that the infection does not spread and you recover without any issues in your eyes.