Neonatal conjunctivitis also known as ophthalmia neonatorum is a disease confronted by newborn babies. It may be infectious or non-infectious, the disease is transmitted by the mother to the newborn at the time of delivery.
The disease can occur if the mother is infectious either by neisseria gonorrhoeae or chlamydia trachomatis. A child can catch the disease during the delivery when he is passing through the birth canal of the mother, his eyes get contaminated resulting in settled mucus around the eyes. Doctors generally apply an antibiotic ointment within the tenure of 1 hour from the delivery. If not treated immediately, the disease can result in blindness.
What are the symptoms of neonatal conjunctivitis?
- Infants can develop drainage from the eyes in the tenure of 1 day to 2 weeks from the day of birth.
- The eyelids become puffy and red.
- There may be a watery, bloody or thick pus drainage from the infant's eye.
What are the causes of neonatal conjunctivitis?
- A blocked tear duct
- Infection by bacteria or viruses, or irritation from antibiotic eyedrops containing silver nitrate (these are rarely used anymore) bacteria that normally live in a woman's vagina may cause a milder form of neonatal conjunctivitis. However, an infection with other bacteria or viruses can be very serious.
- The most common bacteria that can cause serious eye damage are gonorrhea and chlamydia, which can be passed from mother to child during birth.
- The viruses that cause genital and oral herpes may also be passed to the baby during childbirth, and may lead to severe eye damage. Herpes eye infections are less common than those caused by gonorrhea and chlamydia.
- The mother may not have symptoms at the time of delivery but, she can carry the bacteria or virus which can later cause neonatal conjunctivitis.
What are the possible complications of neonatal conjunctivitis?
The possible complications involved in the disease could be the following-:
- Blindness
- Inflammation of the iris
- Scar or hole in the cornea
What can be done for pre prevention?
Instead of treating the child already infected with the disease, one can treat the would-be mother in advance for delivering a healthy child, the following precautions can be taken-:
- Preventing the women from sexually transmitted diseases
- Regular eye drop treatments for the mother if any symptom develops during the pregnancy
- Immediate eye drops for the newborn baby
- When a mother is detected with active herpes scores at the time of delivery, a cesarean section is recommended to avoid any further illness.
Infants should be given maximum care even after birth, regular vaccinations for children are mandatory to ensure the health of the baby. In today's times where parents are working and do not have much time to spare for the kids, their health cannot be at risk! To make it easier, healthcare app in India are developed, features of vaccination reminder and pill reminder are present in the apps to facilitate parents in taking good care of their kids. Download a vaccination reminder app to keep track on your baby's growth and vaccination schedules.