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- Consider using cool compresses and artificial tears for symptomatic relief.
- Recommend measures to prevent the spread of viral conjunctivitis.
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Consider using cool compresses and artificial tears for symptomatic relief.  |
- Use cool water soaked in a gauze pad, face cloth, or cotton balls applied to eyes for 5 minutes.
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Recommend measures to prevent the spread of viral conjunctivitis. |
- Ensure that patients with conjunctivitis are not exposed to uninfected persons in situations where spread is likely to occur.
- Advise that infected school children be kept at home for 1 week or until the eye is no longer red and tearing.
- Recognize that patients with bacterial conjunctivitis may return to school, work, or daycare after 24 to 48 hours of antibiotic therapy.
- Instruct patients to avoid rubbing the eyes and to wash hands frequently.
- Advise patients to avoid sharing face cloths, towels, and bed linens, and to avoid personal contact with others.
- Recommend that patients in jobs that require intimate contact with others (nurses, doctors, teachers) not go to work until symptoms have resolved.
- Always wear gloves when attending to patients with conjunctivitis and avoid contamination of equipment and rooms that will be used for other patients.
- Recommend a dilute bleach solution for cleaning door knobs, refrigerator door handles, remote controls, and other items frequently handled by others.
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| Robert Sambursky, MD, editorial consultant, Chief Medical Officer for Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc.;served as consultant for Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc.;received an honoraria for Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc.;serves as consultant for Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc; owns stock options in Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc.;served as board member or director for Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc.;received grants and has grants pending from Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc.;and has received patents and has patents pending for Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc. Stephen Orlin, MD has no financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or health-care related organizations.
Steven E. Weinberger, MD, FACP, Acting Editor, PIER, has stock holdings in Glaxosmithkline and Abbott. |
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Acute Viral Conjunctivitis
