Conjunctivitis

If it feels like someone threw sand in your eyes, but you haven’t been anywhere near a beach or sandbox lately, you may have conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, the mucous membranes that line the inner surface of the eyelids and the front of the eyeball.

“Conjunctivitis usually involves both eyes and doesn’t affect vision,” says Jon H. Bosland, M.D., a general ophthalmologist in private practice in Bellevue, Washington. “Symptoms can include routine burning or itching, extreme sensitivity to light, and tearing. The eyes get red and the lids and surface of the eye can become swollen,” he continues. There may also be a watery, mucus secretion or, in the case of bacterial infection, a thick discharge coming from the eyes. The discharge may be so thick that you wake up in the morning with a crust over your eyes and the feeling that your eyes are “glued” shut.

The causes of conjunctivitis are as numerous as the types. Infectious types of conjunctivitis, which are highly contagious, can be caused by viruses or by bacteria, such as pneumococcus, streptococcus, and staphylococcus. “The eyes are continually bombarded with germs all of the time. But the blink reflex and the tearing reflex are amazingly effective at fighting off most of these germs,” explains Bosland. “And if a particularly aggressive set of germs attacks the eye, the backup defense mechanisms come into play. The blood vessels dilate to bring more bacteria-killing white blood cells to the area, and the eye begins discharging the infection,” he continues. These defensive maneuvers by the body result in the symptoms of conjunctivitis.

Noninfectious types of conjunctivitis tend to be caused by foreign bodies getting under the lid, exposure to ultraviolet light, and allergies. Wind, smoke, and other types of air pollution, as well as the chlorine in swimming pools, can irritate the conjunctiva. The chronic condition of “dry eye” can also cause conjunctivitis, according to Bosland.

“Allergic conjunctivitis is most often associated with itching and swelling of the white part of the eye, which can sometimes be so severe that the white part of the eye looks like a balloon sticking out between the lids,” says Charles Boylan, M.D., a pediatric ophthalmologist at A Children’s Eye Clinic of Seattle. “Young children often get this when they play out in the grass and weeds in the summertime and get pollen on their hands and then into their eyes. In this instance, the eye can swell up in a matter of minutes,” says Boylan.

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