Conjunctivitis – have you ever suffered from conjunctivitis?

Welcome to our conjunctivitis blog!

According to the UK’s National Health Service over 1% of us will suffer from conjunctivitis each year making it one of the more common medical conditions.   Because of this we felt it would be useful to provide our readers with an opportunity to share your experiences of dealing with conjunctivitis.
In fact there are a number of different kinds of conjunctivitis and they are treated in different fashions!  That being said in around 65% of cases the infection will clear up without treatment so there is no need for anti-biotics.

• Allergic conjunctivitis (of which the most common cause is hay fever) is  treated with antihistamines and on occasions non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
• Bacterial conjunctivitis usually resolves without treatment. Antibiotics, eye drops, or ointment are thus only needed if no improvement is observed after a few days.
• Viral conjunctivitis is harder to treat but if required cold compresses and “artificial tears” can be used.
• Chemical conjunctivitis is treated with a saline solution or a product called Ringer’s lactate.

Neonatal conjunctivitis is usually not grouped with these other forms of conjunctivitis because its causes and circumstances are radically different.
The Patient Experience is interested to find out more about your experiences of conjunctivitis.  We are most interested in the following questions?
a)      From what kind of conjunctivitis did you suffer?  Do you know the original cause of your conjunctivitis
b)      How long did your conjunctivitis last?
c)      Did you need any treatment and if so what was the treatment you used?
d)      Have you had conjunctivitis more than once?
e)      How concerned were you about your conjunctivitis
Please treat these questions just as a guide. It would be great if you could tell us any part of your story.
Thanks very much in advance for your help. Remember, a blog is really like having a conversation with lots of people at the same time and so please check back on the blog to see what others have said so that if you feel like adding to their thoughts you can. It’s a conversation and a chance to learn and share!