Pink eye disease spread throughout the country

Ho Chi Minh City records nearly 4,000 people with pink eye every day, hospitals in Hanoi, Da Nang, Can Tho, Binh Phuoc... also receive many times more patients coming for examination.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the locality recorded 3,954 cases of conjunctivitis (pink eye) on September 13. In previous days, the number of cases was approximately this level, in which children accounted for a large proportion, with about 2,000 cases per day.

Doctor Nguyen Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the City Children's Hospital, said that in the first two weeks of September, this place received 1,173 pediatric patients examined for pink eye, twice as high as in July-August, about 4 times higher than in previous months. the begin of the year. At its peak, on September 11, the hospital received 224 children, while last year there were only about 10 cases.

Children's Hospital 2 in the first 8 months of the year recorded more than 4,800 children coming for examination, compared to less than 3,000 cases in the same period last year. Recently, there have been some days receiving about 200 cases. Children's Hospital 1 also recorded a more than 3-fold increase in the number of children coming to be examined for pink eye compared to the same period in 2022.

At Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, patients making appointments for pink eye have increased continuously in recent days, with more than 70 patients per clinic. People who come for examination include both adults and children, most of them wear sunglasses and masks, and in many cases the whole family is examined.

Many students have to miss school and parents miss work due to pink eye. Ms. Nhan, 50 years old, Tan Binh district, said that in her family of 4, three people had pink eye, including herself and her two children. The children had to miss 3 days of school, and she had to miss 10 days of work as directed by the company.

In Hanoi , pink eye has spread widely since August, increasing rapidly this month. The Central Eye Hospital in recent weeks has recorded an average of about 700 cases of pink eye coming to the doctor each week, 800 last week alone, with some cases of complications. Compared to June, the number of patients coming for examination in August and early September increased nearly twice.

Dr. Hoang Cuong, Central Eye Hospital, said that in previous years, just entering the school year, there were almost no cases of pink eye in students, while this year, quite a few children with pink eye were treated. Dad and mom took me to the doctor. Children have pain on one side, then both eyes are swollen, making families very worried.

Binh Phuoc also recorded a rapid spread of the epidemic, 2/3 of schools in Dong Xoai were infected with pink eye. Thousands of students here had to miss school, and the health sector noted that the disease showed signs of spreading rapidly after the opening of school.

In Ha Tinh , from the beginning of September until now, the pink eye epidemic has spread to many districts and communes, with thousands of people infected. Among them, Huong Khe district has the most cases with more than 5,000 cases. More than 2,300 students from preschool to middle school in Huong Khe suffered from pink eye and were temporarily absent from school.

Can Tho Children's Hospital recorded a 2-3-fold increase in patients with pink eye in recent years compared to the same period last year. Every day this place receives 150-200 children for eye examination, of which pink eye accounts for more than 60%, many children of preschool and elementary school age suffer from the disease.

The number of pink eye cases in Da Nang also increased dramatically. Da Nang Eye Hospital in the first 11 days of September received more than 22,400 cases of pink eye for examination, more than half of which were children. Binh Duong recorded an increasing trend of pink eye patients visiting hospitals, with 2,300 cases since the beginning of the year, an increase of 58% over the same period last year.

Assessing the pink eye disease that is spreading in many provinces and cities, doctor Pham Huy Vu Tung, eye specialist, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that recently the weather has changed from hot to rainy very quickly, so we should do this. High air humidity, accompanied by a dusty environment and polluted water sources create favorable conditions for viruses and bacteria to grow and cause outbreaks. Office, classroom, and public environments are places where infections can spread quickly and widely, as children enter the new school year.

In addition, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, Head of the Department of Pediatrics, Hanoi Medical University Hospital, assessed that in the past two years, after the end of social distancing, the rate of children infected with infectious diseases Infections increase more, including eye pain, which is a disease caused by a virus.

Normally, when exposed to bacteria and viruses, it is also an opportunity for the child's immune system to increase activity and produce antibodies to fight pathogens. Immune debt is a phenomenon that occurs because children are not exposed to bacteria and viruses on a regular basis.

"At the beginning of the school year, children are more likely to get sick because they are on summer vacation for 2-3 consecutive months and do not come into contact with crowded places. When they return to school, they will be more susceptible to illness," said Dr. Thuy.

In the context of the pink eye epidemic spreading rapidly and the number of cases increasing, localities are promoting many solutions to prevent and control the epidemic. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health took samples from patients with pink eye to test for the culprit, identifying the two culprits as enterovirus (accounting for 86%) and adenovirus (accounting for 14%). The Department is continuing to analyze gene decoding to accurately identify the serotype as well as the genotype of the enteroviruses and adenoviruses that cause the disease, thereby having a more effective response plan and disease prevention strategy.

Schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Ha Tinh... are required to promptly deploy proactive measures to prevent and control pink eye epidemic and promptly detect infected students. When a case of pink eye is detected in the classroom, the students' utensils, tables and chairs are disinfected, and the case information is reported to the medical station for coordinated handling.

According to experts at Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital, people with pink eye can use physiological saline (sodium chloride 0.9%) or distilled water to wash their eyes. Eye drops containing antibiotics will be prescribed by the doctor when the patient has signs of suspected bacterial infection (pain, decreased vision, photophobia...), to prevent infection after pseudomembranous membrane removal. .

Patients need to rest at home for 7-10 days. When treating pink eye at home, patients need to apply cold compresses to help reduce swelling and discomfort in the eyes. Regularly wash your hands and face with mild antibacterial soap. Avoid sharing cups, bowls, and towels with others to prevent infection. Do not rub your eyes or go swimming, this will aggravate the condition.

The simplest but most effective measure to prevent the spread of viral pink eye is to regularly wash your hands with soap and use clean water. Do not raise your hands to rub your eyes, nose, or mouth. Do not share personal items such as eye drop bottles, towels, eyeglasses, masks... Clean your eyes, nose, and throat daily with physiological saline, regular eye drops, and nose drops. After recovering from illness, people need to disinfect eyeglasses, wash blankets, pillows, and towels to avoid reinfection.

* SOURCE: https://vnexpress.net/benh-dau-mat-do-lay-lan-ca-nuoc-4652778.html