<p>Although cases of conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, have been falling in the city, several trends have emerged making this less of a seasonal and more of a year-long health concern. Pink eye is especially common in school children.</p>.<p>Conjunctivitis is an eye condition that presents as redness, swelling, and watery discharge in the eyes due to the inflammation of the conjunctiva, a transparent tissue membrane covering the whites of the eyes. This contagious disease usually lasts for a week and is usually treated with eye drops.</p>.<p>A trend observed this year is that this eye condition is no longer limited to a particular season.</p>.<p>Although the number of reported pink eye cases have fallen from four to five a day in August to 7 to 10 cases a week in late September and early October, the risk of people developing a pink eye still persists as the weather gets colder, says Dr Pooja Khamar, refractive surgeon at Narayana Nethralaya.</p>.Fighting conjunctivitis with dark glasses? Here is why you are wrong!.<p>“The summer and monsoon seasons see the highest number of cases but weather changes have meant that the risk of pink eye never goes away. Viral conjunctivitis can be observed a lot in winter months because the risk of infection, cold and cough is higher,” she said.</p>.<p>Another trend that has been observed by ophthalmologists in the city has been pink eye accompanied by subconjunctival haemorrhage (a broken blood vessel in the eye), noted Dr Archana Singh, senior consultant, cornea and refractory services, Shekar Eye Hospital.</p>.<p>She noted that the weather changes could have contributed to a hike in the number of reported cases that have gone up by at least 15 per cent this year compared to last year.</p>.<p>“It is no longer seasonal because we see cases throughout the year. However, more people are aware of the symptoms, which could have led to greater reporting.”</p>.<p>She warns against self-medication and stresses on the need for parents and teachers alike to inform themselves about the symptoms and reach out to an eye doctor immediately.</p>
<p>Although cases of conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, have been falling in the city, several trends have emerged making this less of a seasonal and more of a year-long health concern. Pink eye is especially common in school children.</p>.<p>Conjunctivitis is an eye condition that presents as redness, swelling, and watery discharge in the eyes due to the inflammation of the conjunctiva, a transparent tissue membrane covering the whites of the eyes. This contagious disease usually lasts for a week and is usually treated with eye drops.</p>.<p>A trend observed this year is that this eye condition is no longer limited to a particular season.</p>.<p>Although the number of reported pink eye cases have fallen from four to five a day in August to 7 to 10 cases a week in late September and early October, the risk of people developing a pink eye still persists as the weather gets colder, says Dr Pooja Khamar, refractive surgeon at Narayana Nethralaya.</p>.Fighting conjunctivitis with dark glasses? Here is why you are wrong!.<p>“The summer and monsoon seasons see the highest number of cases but weather changes have meant that the risk of pink eye never goes away. Viral conjunctivitis can be observed a lot in winter months because the risk of infection, cold and cough is higher,” she said.</p>.<p>Another trend that has been observed by ophthalmologists in the city has been pink eye accompanied by subconjunctival haemorrhage (a broken blood vessel in the eye), noted Dr Archana Singh, senior consultant, cornea and refractory services, Shekar Eye Hospital.</p>.<p>She noted that the weather changes could have contributed to a hike in the number of reported cases that have gone up by at least 15 per cent this year compared to last year.</p>.<p>“It is no longer seasonal because we see cases throughout the year. However, more people are aware of the symptoms, which could have led to greater reporting.”</p>.<p>She warns against self-medication and stresses on the need for parents and teachers alike to inform themselves about the symptoms and reach out to an eye doctor immediately.</p>