Kanpur: The number of recorded instances of conjunctivitis, also known as 'pink eye,' in Kanpur and Jhansi has increased significantly.
This highly contagious eye infection is most seen among school-going children.
Shalini Mohan, head of ophthalmology at GSVM Medical College in Kanpur, said that a child can infect an entire family of eight to ten people.
Preseptal cellulitis (infection involving the anterior area of the eyelids), which can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or helminths, accounts for the majority of recent occurrences of conjunctivitis, she says.
In response to the alarming increase in instances among school-aged children, the Kanpur School Welfare Association, an organisation that works with schools and parents, has given eye drops as prescribed by medical professionals.
K.K. Dubey, the organization's general secretary, has claimed that the disease has spread to almost every school.
The organisation also made the children aware of ways to protect themselves from the infection.
Fifty-five kids at a residential school in Jhansi were infected with the disease, and 12 of them have been sent home due to the severity of the infection.
The ophthalmologist at Jhansi Medical College, Dr. Jitendra Kumar, reported that at least 70 people were coming to the OPD with conjunctivitis, which is extremely contagious at the moment.
Similarly, 61 patients were reported in Kanpur Dehat’s district hospital, and 49 in Jalaun on Wednesday, where doctors said that hundreds were in the grip of this infection.
Conjunctivitis was identified in 59, 65, and 71 patients in the ophthalmology OPD over the past three days.
Three patients were admitted to the LLR Hospital in Kanpur as the infection went deep into the eyes, which were heavily swollen and not opening.
“Doctors are seeing such a severity in conjunctivitis cases for the first time. Such is the contagiousness that the entire family is getting infected quickly,” Mohan said, adding that “people must consult the doctors first before using an eye drop”.
Eye drops containing steroids are not recommended by doctors because it can cause injury to the eyes.
There has been an increase in the number of patients complaining of red, painful eyes, a gritty sensation, crusty discharge, and watery eyes in private hospitals in Kanpur.
“We see a rise in infection when there is a change in weather condition,” said Parvez Khan, a leading eye doctor.
“Most people recover in a week but need at least four days of isolation from the onset of symptoms,” he said.—Inputs from Agencies