Conjunctivitis:
- Wash your hands.
- Boil water, let it cool, and wet some cotton wool.
- Gently wipe the eye from the inside outwards to clean it.
- Holding a clean cold flannel on your eyes for a few minutes can help.
What is conjunctivitis?
Conjunctivitis is an eye condition caused by allergies or infections. Treatment is not always needed as the condition will improve in a couple of days or up to several weeks.
Conjunctivitis is sometimes called pink or red eye. In most cases, it affects both eyes.
Signs and symptoms
The eyes may be:
- bloodshot
- sticky, with a discharge of pus
- itchy
- watery
- feeling gritty or burning
What to do
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If the casualty is a baby with red eyes, seek medical assistance straight away.
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Wash your hands with soap and water.
-
Boil some water and let it cool down. Use it to wet some gauze swabs.
- If you don't have gauze, you can use a clean non-fluffy cloth.
-
Use one gauze swab per eye. Gently wipe the eye from the inside outwards to clean it (from point closest to the nose to the cheek).
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Holding a clean cold flannel (or cold compress) on your eyes for a few minutes will help to relieve irritation, any burning sensation, and allergies (for example, hay fever).
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Do not share towels, face cloths, or pillow cases to prevent infectious conjunctivitis spreading.
Seek medical attention if the condition is getting worse or the vision is affected at any time.
