Watch Out! Conjunctivitis a.k.a Apollo or Pink Eye Is In The Air! What You Need To Know About The Prevention And Treatment

When Teni woke up with a red itchy eye, I prayed silently and wished it wasn’t what I thought, but my little boy was so uncomfortable. He tried rubbing his eyes but I gently prevented him from doing so. He just kept saying “What is wrong with my eyes? My eyes are sticky, they are growing bigger and hurts”. That’s the discomfort one gets from conjunctivitis which is commonly called Apollo in Nigeria (who knows where the name originated from sef?).

Conjunctivitis is the medical name for pink eye. It is the swelling of the mucous membrane lining the eyelid and eye surface making the eye become red and swollen as a result of irritation and infection.

It seems Apollo is in the air presently in Nigeria. In the past, I noticed people do have Apollo during the dry, dusty and windy weather. Unfortunately, apollo could be contagious. One can be infected when a member of a household gets infected, a colleague in the office, or someone in your child’s school is infected. It spreads very fast but not to worry, apollo is usually not very serious except the discomfort of the red itchy eyes and it usually clears between 3-7 days.

This is just me sharing some precautions to keep you from getting worried if you were to experience it and to know the necessary steps to take to avoid it from spreading. Trust me I needed to take action, to protect the other kids and other people in the house from ‘catching it’.

Causes: Conjunctivitis may result from an infection caused by viruses or bacteria, allergies, exposure to wind and sun, chemicals, fumes or even swimming pool chlorine water and dry eyes from lack of tears. The most common cases of conjunctivitis are caused by a virus with symptoms affecting one or both eyes and this is the one commonly called Apollo in naija and some parts of West Africa.

Viral conjunctivitis usually clears on its own and may not necessarily need any medical treatment but just to be sure you are handling the viral case and not some other severe eye infection from other causes, it is advisable to visit the hospital. The doctor may likely clean the eye area with mild saline solution or prescribe an antibiotic eye drop to apply at intervals to clear the redness and relieve the itchiness.

Symptoms: The white of one or both eyes become red, swelling of the eyelids, itchy or burning feeling of the eye lids, slightly thick or clear whitish discharge on the eye, tears streaming down the eyes and increased sensitivity to light. Other symptoms such as runny nose and coughing may also come up.

What to do: When you notice these symptoms; firstly, apply a clean face towel dipped in cold water over the eyes several times a day. Someone with conjunctivitis should also avoid rubbing the eyes, should wash hands frequently especially after applying medication and should not share towels and handkerchiefs.

Prevention:  To avoid spreading the infection;

Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes or wash your hands before and after putting eye medicine in the eye or if you are helping someone else put medicine in their eye.

Do not share eye medicine.

Avoid sharing items such as handkerchiefs or towel with a person already infected.

Do not share eye make-up.

If you’ve already been infected, you could re infect yourself. Replace eye make-up you use directly on your eyes with new ones to prevent reinfections.

Do not wear contact lenses until the infection is cured and clean them thoroughly when you have to wear them again.

Wear eye protection when you are in the sun, heat or in windy areas to prevent your eyes from irritation.

Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, wash hands afterwards.

Take extra precautions to sanitize the house by frequently cleaning surfaces, table tops, sinks, and door knobs.

Because of the contagious nature of Apollo, one or more person can still be infected despite all the precautions. Do not be alarmed. If your child is infected, inform the class teacher to take extra precautions to sanitize the classroom and common areas the kids visit in the school. It is advisable to keep your child at home until the contagious stage has passed to avoid spreading. Symptoms improve usually between 3-5 days and then a person can go back to school or work.

What’s up in your household, workplace? Did anyone ‘catch it’?

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