If you have yet to read my articles on Acute Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis on the Rise (Apollo) and 4 Basic Tips to Evading the Apollo Epidemic then I would advise you do before continuing with what I have to share with you today so you may get a better perspective or understanding to what is going to be discussed here.
If you were able to go through the other two then you understand that the "Apollo" condition is on the rise in Ghana as we speak, it's a seasonal condition as you may have read and its time has come. Unfortunately, it is highly contagious and spreads easily from person to person, especially among children, The good news is, that it is spread only through physical contact and not via air which means we can actually control the spread.
@nattybongoAnd so in the second writeup, I spoke about a few things we could do to protect ourselves and hopefully evade this obnoxious virus, These included the use of hand sanitizers, and avoiding physical contact which is quite obvious from my explanation in the previous paragraph, the use or adoption of tissue handkerchief and seeing the Optometrist for care.
For today we would be looking at what you ought to do if you are unable to safeguard yourself or perhaps you did everything you could and in one way or the other the virus still found its way to you. Please note that this is not to promote self-care but to supplement your care as instructed by your primary eye caregiver and to give you general knowledge of your ocular health.
Apollo Management
So if you believe you have the condition, perhaps you came into physical contact with an infected individual and some days later you noticed the symptoms coming up then this is what you need to do. Just to be clear, when you develop Apollo you will definitely have red eyes, It is a most prominent sign that comes about as a result of the hemorrhages going on with your conjunctival vessels.
Then there will be the foreign body sensation, the pain which may vary per person because some people have a high tolerance for pain whereas others cannot stand pain at all, You may experience some discharges if opportunistic bacteria comes in, if not then you may experience a lot of tearing which could also result in intermittent blurry vision.
@nattybongoOnce these are confirmed, please visit your Optometrist right away, If you have to schedule an appointment and it cannot be within the shortest possible time then I would recommend you get a painkiller for the pain you may experience (others also report headaches), you should also start doing some cold compresses. This would not only ease the pain but control the inflammatory processes involved with conjunctivitis and reduce the level of redness in your eyes.
Please do not buy any eye drops for use over the counter, go for a thorough eye examination and use what your Optometrist may have given you, Please do well to abide by the instructions carefully, depending on whether your corneal integrity is affected or not (thus the development of punctate erosions) you may be given steroid-antibiotic combination drugs or purely antibiotic drops and ointments for use. The ointments would most definitely be used in the evening before you retire to bed whereas the drops may be used 3 to 4 times daily.
Once you start treatment it becomes important that you avoid re-infecting yourself, Be conscious of touching your eye because you may experience some amount of itching most often with the drops usage, if you need to touch your eye use a disposable tissue. Apollo most often starts with only one eye and progresses to the other eye, keeping your hands to yourself could prevent this from happening.
When your infection subsides or starts to subside I would recommend you change your bedspread and wash the clothes you may have worn during your days of infection, maintaining general hygiene during these periods would also go a long way to help you recover quicker and protect those who may be around you including your neighbors and other household members.
Conclusion
Apollo may look quite scary just from its appearance and also from the hype the condition may have obtained here in Ghana however I would like to assure you that it is not sight-threatening and it is mostly self-limiting so you should be fine with a few days after infection however other microorganisms tend to take advantage of such situations to cause more trouble in most cases.
@nattybongoAnd so do not sit at home waiting for it to go away all by itself, see your Optometrist for care to avoid any complications. It is always a pleasure to serve you, Thanks for your time and for reading, I wish you the very best, Stay safe, and cheers to a blissful weekend.
Further Reading
Wright, P. W., Strauss, G. H., & Langford, M. P. (1992). Acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis. American family physician, 45(1), 173–178..
Lévêque, N., Huguet, P., Norder, H., & Chomel, J. J. (2010). Les Enterovirus responsables de conjonctivite aiguë hémorragique [Enteroviruses responsible for acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis]. Medecine et maladies infectieuses, 40(4), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medmal.2009.09.006.
Zhang, L., Zhao, N., Huang, X., Jin, X., Geng, X., Chan, T. C., & Liu, S. (2017). Molecular epidemiology of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis caused by coxsackie A type 24 variant in China, 2004-2014. Scientific reports, 7, 45202. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45202.
Burr, S. E., Sillah, A., Joof, H., Bailey, R. L., & Holland, M. J. (2017). An outbreak of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis associated with coxsackievirus A24 variant in The Gambia, West Africa. BMC Research Notes, 10(1), 692. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-3007-9.