Eye Flu Cases Rise in Delhi: How Long Does it Last And How to Treat it?

The wet and humid conditions of the monsoon provide an ideal breeding ground for the viruses or bacteria responsible for these infections to spread rapidly, he said.

The national capital is flooded with water from the Yamuna River. There has been a sudden outbreak of eye flu in Delhi due to these cases of conjunctivitis and other eye infections are increasing in Delhi with many doctors warning that it is “highly contagious” and proper hygiene behavior should be maintained to control its spread. Doctors at government and private hospitals said they have been receiving cases mainly from the city’s younger population. It is a “self-limiting infection” and each individual immunity will have a role to play in the course of the disease. The wet and humid conditions of the monsoon provide an ideal breeding ground for the viruses or bacteria responsible for these infections to spread rapidly, he said.

To stop the spread of infection, eye contact should be kept to a minimum, eye contact with others should be avoided, and school children should be isolated for 3-5 days in case of infection, after which if treatment is started they may be non-infectious.

How long will the eye flu last?

In general, the eye flu lasts from a few days to about two weeks. Conjunctivitis is also of two types. One has it due to viruses like herpes or adenovirus. This usually lasts 10 to 14 days, and in severe cases it can last about a month. The other, a bacterial conjunctivitis, which can last around 10 days.

According to Healthline, a virus that causes viral conjunctivitis can spread from your nose to your eyes, or you can catch it when someone sneezes or coughs and the droplets come into contact with your eyes. Bacteria cause bacterial conjunctivitis. Usually, the bacteria spreads to the eyes from the respiratory system or the skin. You can also get bacterial conjunctivitis if you:

HOW TO TREAT THE EYE FLU?

Eyr flu is spreading like wildfire in Delhi and is also considered highly contagious. Symptoms are watery discharge from the eyes, redness, congestion, photophobia, hemorrhages in the superficial layer of the eye.

Management is through antibiotic eye drops, eye ointments, topical decongestants, lubricants, and some oral antiallergics. According to experts, eye flu can be treated with cold compression of the eye through ice packs.

Cases of conjunctivitis and skin allergy are mainly reported in relief camps housing flood-affected people in parts of Delhi, the city’s Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on July 17.