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Chennai’s eyesore
No need to rub your eyes in disbelief or open them wide in shock. This is that time of the year when ‘Madras Eye’ strikes. What we fashionably call Madras Eye is conjunctivitis, an infection, that is caused by a virus. The virus thrives during the hot, dry season but that does not mean that it has “climatic predisposition”. Dr Srinivas K. Rao, Senior Consultant, Cornea Service, Sankara Nethralaya, says their virologist has established that this year’s infection is the handiwork of ‘adeno virus’. Each year, the offending virus is a different one and this year’s mischief-maker was last seen a decade ago. Since the immunity of the population has gone down to this particular virus, it is back ‘in the public eye’ and striking at will if one were to go by the number of absentees in all walks of life. A staff who walked into office with bloodshot eyes because he worked 18 hours the previous day, put the fear of God in his boss who does not see ‘eye to eye’ with him. Worried that his subordinate was going to give him ‘an eye for an eye’, he promptly marched him home. While the boss shielded his eyes, the young man went home and got some shut-eye. A horticulturist who had promised to treat a garden on an appointed day failed to keep his promise. When gently reminded over phone, there were tears in his voice, “Sir, what can I do? All my five workers are down with Madras Eye.” Many housewives believe their servants are faking this infection just to keep away from work. However trying the circumstances, they do not want an ‘eyeball-to-eyeball’ confrontation. They are afraid they would pick up the infection if they so much as looked at the infected person’s eyes. But Dr Rao explains that the infection is not spread through air but through contact. Sharing common things like soap, towel, kerchief, eye make-up, or anything else that the infected person has handled, helps in the spread of this infection. The common symptoms are irritation, red, watery eyes, discharge, difficulty in looking at the sunlight and pain (depending on the severity of the attack). The virus remains a happy guest for 3-4 days and then leaves without a trace. But even this short visitation can be a pain as there is no treatment for the virus.
Sankara Nethralaya has seen a sudden influx of patients with ‘Madras Eye’. The emergency department treats them and the ophthalmologists educate them on how to maintain personal hygiene and advise them to use mild antibiotic eye drops. The hospital also gets about 10 per cent of patients who could be in danger of more severe infection and complications as a result of the infection. Beware if there is abnormal pain, blood in the eyes, excessive discharge or if the infection continues for a long period. Don’t turn a blind eye to it: Get professional help. S Chitra Published on 20th November, 2002
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Copyright
2008, Chennai Interactive
Business Services (P) Ltd. |
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People are eyeing one another with great distrust in Chennai these days. Anybody who so much as rubs his/her eyes in public is immediately treated like an alien who has landed from a different galaxy and given a wide berth.
“Since there is no anti-virus, there is no treatment. The best treatment is prevention by maintaining good hygiene. But people can use antibiotic eye drops once the infection sets in. This prevents other infections as the patient is susceptible to such attacks. People should be definitely discouraged from using steroid eye drops, or trying home remedies like castor oil,” warns Dr
Rao.
