What to do when you have conjunctivitis

Are you feeling a burning sensation in your eyes? Has your top eyelid started hurting out of nowhere? Are the whites of your eyes slowly turning pink too? Well, if the symptoms that I just mentioned above are showing up, unfortunately, you might be a victim of the ongoing conjunctivitis wave. At least, these are the symptoms that appeared for me.

Don't wait for all the symptoms to appear

Right after the burning sensation intensifies, seek help from a medical professional. Do not wait for the other symptoms to show up. Apply eye drops, according to the advice of a doctor.

Maintain cleanliness

Wash your hands right after touching the infected eye. If one of your eyes has been infected and the other hasn't, it is likely that the uninfected eye will be affected too. But, make sure that you do not touch both of your eyes with the same hands as the bacteria will be transmitted to the healthy eye.

Try using tissue papers to rub your eyes or clean them when required, as it might not be possible to wash your hands constantly in order to touch your eyes.

Do not stare at screens for long periods of time

Yes, you will be bored out of your mind, and might even be desperate to finish an assignment or text someone or just watch a movie, but you must remember that your health comes first. I didn't take this advice and proceeded to stare at my phone for hours which only added to my pain and led to excessive tear production that caused irritation within the eyes.

Allow your eyes some rest during this period. Try to avoid activities that will end up straining your eyes.

Dab your eyes with warm tea bags

The idea sounds a bit uncomfortable as I'm suggesting you apply heat to the place that is already hurting, but, trust me on this one, it is very comforting. I dabbed the inner corner of my eyes and the upper eyelids and it ended up relieving the pain. Before doing so, make sure that the tea bag is heated to your comfort level.

Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes

As much as I despised the fact that I had to wear sunglasses, I was still glad that I chose to do it. It will prevent the infection from worsening as it protects the eyes from foreign agents that are present in the polluted Dhaka city air and not allow excessive light to pass through. Your eyes are already weak after getting infected and sunglasses can act as a protective barrier for them.

If the infection has healed, clean the towels and clothes that you've used throughout that period and sanitize any object that you have touched. This may serve as an extra precaution as conjunctivitis is quite unpredictable. A person who was infected once, might get infected again.

It's important we end the article with a disclaimer, these are things that I have learned from my own experience of being infected with conjunctivitis and this wasn't written with the assistance of a medical professional. The symptoms may differ, thus, contact a medical professional to gain insight regarding your situation and also about following any advice mentioned above.

Angelina Nodee Francis enjoys cracking self-deprecating jokes and running away from her problems. Send her memes at angelinafrancis004@gmail.com