Does My Child Have Conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is an inflammation of the membrane that lines the eyelid and wraps around to cover most of the white of the eye. This condition can affect one or both eyes. Factors that contribute to this disorder are usually viral or bacterial, although there have been cases where allergies or irritants such as smoke, fumes, makeup, chlorine from swimming pools and irritations from contact lens solutions have caused pink eye. Viruses causing conjunctivitis are highly contagious.

What Does It Look Like and How Does It Spread?

Symptoms of conjunctivitis are basically the same no matter what the cause. If you see your child with red or pink eyes and are complaining of itchy or painful eyes, you can suspect they have pink eye. The infected eye(s) usually present a green or yellow discharge which crusts and makes it difficult to open the eyes especially when awakening in the morning. There also can be tearing and light sensitivity. Luckily conjunctivitis rarely affects vision.

Pink eye is spread by contact. Touching an object or surface that has been contaminated by a person with an infected eye spreads the germs by the hands. Conjunctivitis can also follow an upper respiratory infection. Kids are contagious during the initial period of the disease. With a case of bacterial conjunctivitis usually caused by staphylococcus and streptococcus , the incubation period is unknown but usually ends when the course of medication is started. Usually the antibiotics are in the form of eye drops or ointments. The adenovirus type may be contagious for up to 14 days after the symptoms are seen. Children with this type of viral pink eye can also have a fever, sore throat and other respiratory symptoms. Antibiotics are not much help when the cause is viral and the disease must run its course. Children are contagious as long as the symptoms are present and this can cause outbreaks amongst other family members and in childcare settings.

How To Manage This Disorder?

An eye exam from an ophthalmologist or from a primary care physician will reveal inflammation of the conjunctivae. Stained smears will show cells such as monocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages. A culture and sensitivity test will identify the specific causing agent and indicate the appropriate medication and/or treatment.

As a former early childhood teacher, I had to take quick and precautionary measures when I saw a child with symptoms of pink eye, so not to infect the other children in my class. The infected child needs to be excluded from the other children until parents can be notified to take the child from the facility and to a physician. Hand washing is a must and should be done routinely. Children must be told not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth. Also parents, teachers and caregivers need to exercise careful sanitation of toys and objects that are commonly touched by the hands or faces. This also includes towels, blankets, telephones, doorknobs and eating utensils.

Whether you are a parent at home or working in a childcare setting, it's wise to machine wash any cloth type toys, run plastic toys in the top rack or a dishwasher or hand wash them with soap with a final rinse of water with a small amount of chlorine bleach. This handy advice is good when trying to prevent conjunctivitis and also any other types of virus that spreads among children.

Sources:

Mayo Clinic

"Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools" by Susan S. Aronson, M.D. & Timothy R. Shope, M.D. [American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009]

"Diseases of the Human Body" by Carol D. Tamparo, PhD and Marcia A. Lewis, EdD, RN [F.A. Davis Company, 2005]