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Conjunctivitis Diagnosis

Conjunctivitis: Diagnosis


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1. Physical examination and medical history

The initial diagnosis requires a physical examination of the affected eye. Optometrists look for the characteristic symptoms of redness of the eye, local inflammation, water and pus-like discharge. Patient history is taken into account principally to establish the predicament as conjunctivitis and not other complexities. Additionally, the doctor asks about a possibility of exposure to other affected people, the presence of any general health or environmental conditions that may be contributing to the problem, and the living conditions of the affected person.

2. Bacterial culture

Incidence of conjunctivitis can also be due to bacterial infection which requires special medication. To make a specific diagnosis of the organism involved, a bacterial culture is undertaken. For such a test, cultures or smears of the eye discharge or the conjunctival tissue are to be collected to study in the lab. Usually a bacterial infection does not respond to antibiotics and involves a fixed gestation period and proper hygienic conditions for early recuperation.

3. Viral culture

The doctor may also take a sample of eye secretions from your conjunctiva for laboratory analysis for a viral check up to determine the form of infection. Unlike the bacterial infection, the viral one does not spread that easily and do not respond to any antibiotic treatment, hence the detection and distinction is important for treatment. The viral infection usually shows numerous lymphoid follicles on the tarsal conjunctiva, and sometimes a punctate keratitis.

4. Microscopic eye testing

An eye specialist will turn to visual acuity measurements through microscopes to determine the influence and damage on the eyesight of the patient. Microscopic eye testing involves examining the conjunctival sac and the external eye tissue covering the cornea using bright light and magnification. It also takes into account a thorough visual study of the inner lid of the eye to ensure that in case of complications, no further tissues are affected causing intense damage to the eye.

5. Litmus test

Sometimes, the conjunctivitis might be triggered from external exposure and not comply with any set reason. This could be due to a chemical eye injury. In this case, the inflammation might occur either due to an acidic or alkali exposure to the eye. Alkalis are worse than acidic burns and cause the cornea to turn white. However, in case of minor burns conjunctivitis can be a natural outcome. Swabs collected from conjuctival tissue are sent for the litmus paper analysis. The diagnosis involves asserting the pH level.

6. Allergy tests

An allergy test conducted through blood culture might also prove to be a valuable diagnostic tool to treat conjunctivitis. It helps identify the allergen causing the allergy, which can be pollen, animal fur, chlorine in swimming pools, ingredients in cosmetics or other products. The allergy also could be the result of side effects of other drugs. In that case, stopping the drug reverses or checks the symptoms.

7. Bio microscopic test

Except in the obvious cases of pyogenic, toxic and chemical conjunctivitis, a slit lamp or a bio-microscope is needed to have any confidence in the diagnosis. The cause for infection can be due to infection from parasites or fungi, which go often undisclosed. Examination of the tarsal conjunctiva is usually more indicative than the bulbar conjunctiva in such situations. Moreover, in some cases bacterial infections go undetected in low-grade conjunctivitis. In such cases, normal bacterial smear tests of medical microbiology labs are incapable of nailing the disease and might prove to be misleading.

8. Test for STDs

Although, sexually transmitted diseases are an uncommon cause of conjunctivitis, they are often the external indications of its occurrence. In such cases, the treatment of the STDs alone can heal the situation instead of external drugs. Conjunctival scrapes for cytology can be useful in detecting chlamydial, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases. But the cost of such tests is high and the latter are usually avoided.

9. Ruling out other causes

Bacterial infection of the conjunctiva can be secondary to discharge resulting from dry eye, eyelid abnormality or other ophthalmic disorders. Such situations result in low recovery period and hence, make it essential to first rule out their occurrence to establish conjunctivitis. Here, it is necessary to examine the lid margins and the upper lid, and look for discharge from the lacrimal puncta.

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