Eye care in monsoon: While this season increases your chances of getting skin issues and allergies, eye infections also become more likely as the air becomes contaminated with germs and viruses. Redness, a burning feeling, and swelling around the eyes become common.
A little eye care may go a far way in preventing infections and keeping your eyes healthy so that you can enjoy the monsoon season to the fullest. After all, prevention is better than cure.
In an interview with Zee English, Dr Priyanka Singh (MBBS, MS, DNB, FAICO), Consultant and Eye Surgeon at Neytra Eye Centre, shares “The monsoon season is gearing up in Delhi. For the past few weeks, the citizens have been witnessing heavy downpours for 3-4 continuous days and hourly rains since June end. Schools have also been shut down due to the monsoons being at their peak in the entire Delhi-NCR and various parts of India.”
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Monsoon season is a necessity, no doubt, but it brings along with it numerous viral and bacterial eye infections such as conjunctivitis, eye allergies, and infections of the gut, upper and lower respiratory tract as well.
We can enjoy the monsoons in full swing simply by taking the necessary precautions and keeping eye infections at bay.
Common Eye Infections and Irritations During Monsoon
The common eye complications to be taken care of this monsoons are:
1. Conjunctivitis: The month of July has seen a sudden splurge in cases of conjunctivitis also referred to as pink eye. This is caused by bacterial and/ or viral infections of the eye. Visible symptoms include eye redness and swelling, a release of a yellow sticky eye discharge, eye irritation along with pain. These signs speed up due to a higher percentage of humidity in the atmosphere.
The above situation can be prevented easily by washing hands regularly. Avoid touching your eyes and do not hesitate to reach out to your ophthalmologist as you start experiencing the early symptoms of the infection.
2. Eyelid Infections: The hot and humid rainy weather also increases the chances of eyelid infections like styes or chalazions.
Make sure, you do not touch or rub your eyes and avoid sharing towels, eye make-up, handkerchiefs and other belongings.
3. Dacryocystitis: This is a type of infection of the lacrimal sac which is caused when the drainage of tears from the eyes to the nose is blocked. Blocked areas promote the growth of microbes leading to swelling and pain in the inner area of the eye. People who experience frequent watering from their eyes are prone to develop this condition in hot and humid weather.
You should consult an oculoplastic surgeon as soon as you experience the symptoms.
4. Dry Eyes: It is a common condition faced by patients during the monsoon season. It happens due to the disturbances caused by the tear film present in the eyes. As a result, your eyes become prone to allergies as well as infections.
To solve the problem of dry eyes, repetitive lubrication is needed with the help of eye drops prescribed by your ophthalmologist.
Tips To Prevent Eye Infections In Monsoon
Essential eye care tips for warding off eye infections during the monsoons include:
1. Do not allow the rainwater to enter your eyes
When it rains, we all love enjoying the weather, but we are unaware of the fact that rainwater contains irritants, atmospheric pollutants, bacteria and viruses mixed with it and they enter your eyes, thus your eye becomes prone to eye infections. Thus make sure if by mistake you get wet in the rain or rain water enters your eyes, wash your eyes with water.
2. Take care of our eyewear ( glasses or contact lenses)
Carry contact lenses solution, and use them as and when required. Keep cleaning your glasses with a clean handkerchief or linen cloth before wearing them during the monsoon season.
3. Wash hands frequently
A misconception is that conjunctivitis spreads by looking into the eyes of an infected person. But the truth is that the disease spreads through physical contact, when we touch the belongings of, or some other stuff of an infected person. Thus you should wash your hands from time to time to ward off these infections.
4. One should not self-medicate
When you have a sticky eye discharge, watery eyes, or eye irritation. Most of the time, we directly go to the pharmacy and get some eye drops but this should be avoided as these eye drops might contain steroids. So, it is advisable to see an ophthalmologist in case of any eye issues.
5. During rainy seasons, avoid sharing cosmetics, pillow covers, handkerchiefs and face towels.
6. Clean contact lenses daily even when not in use.
7. Throw away expired eye cosmetics, contact lens solution or cosmetics which are no longer in use ( after opening).
8. Use lubricating eye drops for dry eyes.
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9. In case of infections, show to eye specialists as early as possible to avoid spreading the infection to others.
10. In children with infections, avoid sending them to school for a few days.
11. Avoid excess screen time to prevent unnecessary eye strain.
12. Do not self-medicate or put over-the-counter medications in the eyes (except lubricants).