Have you ever had the experience of waking up in the morning with red, swollen and itchy eyes, unable to open your eyes, and rubbing them with your hands but the more you rub, the worse it gets? This may be allergic conjunctivitis.
So how can you tell if your eyes are allergic or simply tired? How to prevent and relieve eye allergies?
01 What is allergic conjunctivitis?
Allergic reaction, also known as metamorphosis, is an abnormal immune response of the body to external or self-antigenic substances. Allergic conjunctivitis is an allergic reaction of the conjunctiva of the eye stimulated by external allergens.
Common allergens include dust mites, animal hair and dander, dust, and chemicals in addition to spring pollen. For example, changes in the composition of the atmosphere due to changes in the climate (more pollen in spring, more dust in sandstorms, etc.), chemicals around the face and eyes (skin care products, cosmetics, perfumes, etc.), and tissues (hair, dander, saliva, etc.) shed by pets during pet ownership.
02 What are the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis?
Common symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis include: conjunctival congestion, redness and swelling around the eyes; itching, burning and foreign body sensation in the eyes; increased eye discharge and tearing; photophobia, and a noticeable dryness in the eyes during the day, which is alleviated at night.
When the above discomfort occurs in the eyes, it can be considered that conjunctivitis has occurred and needs to be treated promptly. However, it is not recommended to use eye drops by yourself, but need to go to the regular hospital for appropriate examination and then do symptomatic treatment.
In addition, it is especially important to avoid rubbing your eyes when they are already uncomfortable. Although rubbing may be able to relieve the dry itch for a while, in fact, not thoroughly clean hands may bring microbial infection to the eyes, in addition to rubbing vigorously may also cause mechanical damage to the conjunctiva, causing more serious problems.
03 How to effectively prevent and mitigate allergic conjunctivitis?
- Avoid contact with allergens
Removing allergens is the most effective practice, but in reality it is actually difficult to achieve 100% avoidance. We can minimize the exposure to allergens by the following ways to alleviate and avoid allergy symptoms.
① Outdoors:
Minimize outdoor activities, wear goggles and masks when outdoors, clean thoroughly when you get home, and change your clothes if necessary.
② Indoors:
Pay attention to indoor ventilation or use air purifiers, use dehumidifiers/humidifiers to maintain indoor humidity, and reduce indoor allergens by regular indoor cleaning, thorough dusting, and skin removal. It is important to note that machines such as humidifiers need to be cleaned regularly or they can also become a new source of pollution.
- Adopt good living habits
Regular work and rest, moderate exercise, pay attention to diet and nutrition, and other measures that can improve health, in fact, can also be avoided or alleviated to a certain extent allergy symptoms. After all, allergy is actually an abnormality of the body’s immune system, through regular life so that the body to maintain a stable state, can also reduce the occurrence of allergies.
During the onset of the disease, we should pay attention to avoid spicy stimulation, high protein and other allergy-causing food intake, at the same time to avoid excessive eye use, pay attention to the combination of work and rest.
- Pay attention to eye hygiene
When the eyes are itchy and swollen, be sure not to rub with your hands to avoid falling into the vicious circle of the more itchy the more rubbing, the more rubbing the more itchy.
If the eye is uncomfortable, you can use artificial tears to reduce the concentration of local inflammatory factors, improve the symptoms of redness, swelling and itching, and relieve pain. Appropriate cold compresses can also be applied. Apply ice packs with light pressure on the eyelids, and try not to use towels wrapped around the ice packs, as towels are difficult to clean thoroughly and may also be a source of contamination.
Care also needs to be taken to avoid infection caused by condensation from the periphery of the ice pack entering the eye as it melts. In addition to ice packs, you can also place anti-allergy eye drops or artificial tears in the refrigerator and then use them.
During an allergy attack, be careful to avoid wearing contact lenses to prevent increasing the burden on the eyes and aggravating the symptoms. Also reduce the frequency of eye make-up and try not to apply skin care products/cosmetics around the eyes.