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We treat fungal eye infections. What is fungal conjunctivitis and how to treat it

(ophthalmomycosis) is an inflammatory process in the conjunctiva, provoked by the proliferation of fungi. The disease can be provoked by pathogens that are classified as opportunistic and are found in normal microflora. Fungi are also capable of penetrating the mucous membrane of the eye from the outside, being introduced from with dirty hands, other people's care items.

Sometimes the conjunctiva becomes inflamed first due to allergic reaction, bacterial or viral infectious process, and only then begins to actively join fungal flora with the development of ophthalmomycosis. Therefore, it is so important to immediately contact an ophthalmologist and identify the specific pathogen in order to select an effective treatment.

The microflora of the conjunctival cavity contains fungi in most adults and children. Many of them have low pathogenicity. But under the influence certain factors pathogens begin to actively multiply, causing an inflammatory process.

The main causes of ophthalmomycosis:

damage to the mucous membrane of the eyes;
development of mycotic;
violation of the rules of use and storage contact lenses;
presence of accompanying systemic diseases and chronic diseases of the endocrine system;
long-term use of glucocorticosteroids;
immunodeficiency states;
high air humidity;
indoor pollution, unfavourable conditions work and life.

Classification of fungal conjunctivitis

Depending on the clinical form ophthalmologists distinguish between exudative and granulomatous fungal conjunctivitis. The type of disease can only be determined qualified specialist. The granulomatous form of the disease often occurs with coccidosis and actinomycosis. Exudative conjunctivitis is characteristic of general candidiasis and aspergillosis.

The treatment tactics for fungal conjunctivitis depend on the form of the disease. Before starting therapy, the doctor must prescribe an examination.

Diagnostics

An ophthalmologist makes an accurate diagnosis based on laboratory test results. The presence of mycosis is indicated by worsening symptoms of fungal conjunctivitis while taking antibacterial agents And hormonal drugs. Fungi are identified using microscopic and cytological studies of scrapings from the conjunctiva.

Symptoms of the disease

Clinical manifestations depend on the form of the disease. Symptoms of fungal conjunctivitis increase gradually. First, the mucous membrane becomes red and swollen. After a few days, grainy inclusions appear in the conjunctival area, ulcerative defects, covered with a white-greenish coating.

With granulomatous fungal conjunctivitis, progression purulent lymphadenitis. While studying the content lymph nodes specialists identify fungi. With candidal mycosis of the conjunctival cavity, yellow-gray films are formed that are easily removed. In this case, papillary outgrowths are formed that are prone to ulcerative lesions.

The main symptom of fungal conjunctivitis is purulent discharge from the eyes, which often confuses specialists and forces them to prescribe antibacterial therapy.

But antibiotics accelerate the growth of fungal flora in ophthalmomycosis. On the background antibacterial treatment the symptoms of fungal conjunctivitis will only intensify.

Treatment with medications

Fungal conjunctivitis is treated with antifungal agents. They are used in the form of solutions for instillation, eye drops and ointments. Also, antimycotics for ophthalmomycosis are prescribed orally in the form of tablets. Complex treatment fungal conjunctivitis gives the best results.

At long term disease, the activity of local and general immunity decreases.

During the development of ophthalmomycosis, fungi are not only in the conjunctival mucosa, but also actively multiply inside the body. That’s why it’s so important to start taking antifungal drugs on time. systemic action and do not interrupt their use for 1-2 weeks.

From local drugs the conjunctiva is prescribed with a solution of amphotericin B, natamycin. Nystatin tablets are prescribed orally (500,000 units 4-8 times a day). At night, nystatin ointment must be placed behind the eyelids. Systemic therapy includes the use of modern antifungal agents. For ophthalmomycosis, fluconazole 150 mg/day is usually prescribed for 14-30 days.

Treatment with folk remedies

Since the basis of ophthalmomycosis is fungal infection, can only be used as a supplement. It is necessary to destroy fungi with antimycotics. For rinsing and antiseptic treatment eye can use infusion pharmaceutical chamomile. To do this, pour a tablespoon of the plant with a glass of boiling water and leave in a thermos for 1 hour. Afterwards, strain the infusion and use to wipe sore eyes.

To relieve itching and inflammation, you can use tea leaves. Brew only loose leaf tea. Several times a day, wipe your sore eyes with a sterile bandage soaked in tea leaf infusion.

Prevention

Prevention of ophthalmomycosis requires eliminating the action of predisposing factors. Fungi begin to actively reproduce when long-term treatment antibiotics, corticosteroids, in case of intestinal microflora disturbance.

If you take antibiotics, be sure to pay attention to restoring the intestinal microbiocenosis and take a course of probiotics and synbiotics.

To prevent ophthalmomycosis, it is recommended to promptly treat general candidiasis, mycosis of the skin, properly care for contact lenses and improve working and living conditions. If redness of the conjunctiva appears, it is necessary to clarify the diagnosis and begin treatment as soon as possible. This will prevent the active proliferation of fungi and the occurrence of complications.

Eye damage that is caused by a fungal infection is called candidal conjunctivitis. The disease occurs in a chronic or subacute form. You can become infected with fungal conjunctivitis through contact with water, soil, animals and sick people. The pathology is manifested by hyperemia eyeball, plaque on the conjunctiva, formation of nodules. The more advanced the disease, the more difficult it is to treat, and many dangerous complications arise. Therefore, when the first signs of the disease appear, you need to contact a specialist.

Causes of candidal conjunctivitis

The eye shell is inhabited by various fungal organisms that have become part of the microflora. But when the body is exposed to negative factors, the body’s defenses are weakened and a fungal infection spreads, which leads to the occurrence of many diseases of the eyeball, including fungal eye infections. To such negative factors relate:

traumatic damage to the eyeball;
eye burns;
development of diabetes mellitus;
endocrinological pathologies;
decreased immunity;
long-term use of antibacterial and hormonal therapy;
fungal infection skin;
violation of hygiene rules when storing and using contact lenses;
presence of HIV infection;
staying in unsanitary conditions;
chronic eye diseases;
infectious diseases;
hormonal disorders.

Symptoms of fungal conjunctivitis

Candidal conjunctivitis is manifested by the following symptoms:

Treatment of the disease

If a person experiences the first symptoms of the disease, you should not try to cure yourself at home at home, as this leads to dangerous complications. Therefore, you must definitely contact specialists. Upon admission, the doctor will listen to all complaints, conduct an examination with an ophthalmoscope and prescribe special additional methods diagnostics Once the diagnosis is made, the doctor will create a treatment plan. Drug treatment is prescribed as therapy and folk remedies, which can be used at home.

Drug therapy

For fungal eye infections, these drugs are prescribed.

Among eye lesions pathogenic microorganisms Fungal conjunctivitis is often diagnosed. Depending on the type of mycotic organism, the symptoms of the disease vary. However, there are similar signs - the formation of nodules and ulcers, the appearance of purulent discharge, inflammation of the lymph nodes. To avoid complications, it is recommended to consult a doctor who will prescribe drug therapy and will give preventive recommendations.

Why does ophthalmomycosis occur?

Fungal infection is possible through inhalation of dust containing spores of mycotic organisms.

Fungal conjunctivitis occurs when the following microorganisms enter the eye structures:

aspergellus;
candida;
sporotrichum;
actinomycete;
coccidioides;
penicillium;
Rhinosporidium.

The main causes of infection are the following:

If you use contact lenses incorrectly, the disease will not be long in coming.

decreased immunity;
eye injuries, especially with the formation of a wound (burns, wounds);
lack of personal hygiene;
improper care and installation of contact lenses;
contact with infected animals;
professional activities related to storing grain, baking bread;
using household items of a sick person that have not been disinfected;
skin fungal diseases;
long-term use of antibiotics;
consumption of unwashed vegetables and fruits, contaminated water;
eating moldy foods;
fungal infection of residential premises.

Symptoms: how does ocular mycosis manifest?

With ophthalmomycosis, lymph nodes are often affected. Lymphadenitis is accompanied by enlarged nodes, pain, increased temperature, and a general deterioration of the condition. Depending on the etiology, fungal conjunctivitis has the symptoms shown in the table:

Type of illness	Symptoms
Sporotrichosis and rhinosporidosis	Swelling and redness of the conjunctiva
	Granuloma formation
	The appearance of dense formations due to blockage sebaceous glands century (meibomian gland infarction)
Actinomycosis	Formation of infiltrates filled with pus
Actinomycosis	Formation of fistulas, which long time don't heal
Coccidioidomycosis	Inflammation of the iris and ciliary body with the formation of granulomas
Coccidioidomycosis	Combined with damage to the respiratory system (chest pain, shortness of breath, cough)
Penicillium infection	The appearance of ulcerations on the conjunctiva
Penicillium infection	Formation of greenish plaque
Candidiasis	The appearance of yellow or gray films
	Profuse lacrimation
	Itching and redness of the eyes
	Distortion of vision
Aspergellosis	Redness of the conjunctiva
	Penetration of infiltrate into the structures of the eye
	Formation of papillae from which ulcers arise

Diagnostic measures

Timely diagnosis contributes to timely treatment and will prevent complications such as entropion of the eyelids, inflammation of the lacrimal ducts, and dacryocystitis.

A more detailed examination of the patient is usually preceded by an external examination. visual organs.

Conjunctivitis caused by fungi can be diagnosed by an ophthalmologist. You may also need to consult an infectious disease specialist or dermatologist. The doctor examines the medical history, conducts external inspection and prescribes the following diagnostic procedures:

culture of purulent discharge on nutrient media;
scraping from the mucous membrane of the organ of vision for cytological and microscopic analysis;
scraping the skin for the presence of pathogenic fungi.

Treatment: which methods are effective?

Drug therapy

The treatment tactics are determined by the doctor; self-medication is prohibited. To get rid of fungal conjunctivitis in adults, you need complex therapy, which includes the drugs shown in the table.

Fungal conjunctivitis, or ophthalmomycosis, is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye caused by a fungal infection. The disease is accompanied purulent discharge on the conjunctiva of the organ, characterized by a sluggish course, usually affects only one eye. The risk group includes people who constantly use contact lenses.

The clinical form of the disease can be of several types:

Granulomatous conjunctivitis. Called this type sporotrichosis, actinomycosis, rhinosporadiasis, coccidiosis.
Exudative fungal conjunctivitis is caused by aspergillosis and candidiasis.

Causes

In the human eye, as a rule, there are various fungal organisms that have become part of the microflora. Moreover, they settle in different parts eyes - in the conjunctiva, under the upper eyelid, in the tear ducts. More than half of them are pathogenic. The type of fungus that causes conjunctivitis in humans is found in water bodies, soil, grass, and animal bodies.

Infection occurs through microcracks in the mucous membrane. The fungus enters the eye upon contact with a contaminated object or liquid. For example, it may be on a lens that has not been heat-treated, or on a towel that was previously used by a sick person.

Most often, the pathology affects people with weakened immune systems or those with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or mycosis. skin. HIV-infected people are at particular risk.

Fungal conjunctivitis most often occurs in places with unsanitary conditions, in countries with long, hot summers, in regions with a dusty atmosphere and humid air (coast South Africa, For example).

Symptoms of the disease

Conjunctivitis caused by a fungal infection can occur slowly or develop rapidly - it depends on the state of the person’s immune system. Therefore, symptoms may appear simultaneously, or they may occur one at a time over several days. These include:

Edema and...
On the mucous membrane of the lower and upper eyelid granulomatous inflammation appears.
There are ruptures in the meibomian glands.
The purulent nodules burst and the contents flow out of them.
The leaking purulent nodules turn into fistulas.
Sometimes a light green coating forms on the conjunctiva.
Lymph nodes increase in size.
During sleep, the film covering the conjunctiva hardens, and the awakened person cannot open his closed eyes for a long time.

At proper therapy the disease goes away in 5-10 days. Complications may include entropion and deformation of the eyelids, and may also cause damage to cornea eyes.

Only a doctor prescribes treatment and only after diagnosing the disease. After all, antifungal therapy includes drugs with narrowly targeted action against specific types of fungus. Broad spectrum antibiotics in in this case ineffective.

With fungal conjunctivitis, the symptoms are so pronounced that the patient cannot have any doubt about the nature of the disease. Therefore, at their first manifestations, he should consult a doctor.

Diagnostics

Fungal conjunctivitis is diagnosed not only by external signs. After the examination, the ophthalmologist collects samples and sends them for laboratory analysis.

It includes:

cytological examination of conjunctival scraping;
bacteriological culture of a smear;
skin scraping examination.

The doctor must determine what kind of conjunctivitis will have to be dealt with. After all, there is not only a fungal infection, but also a bacterial or allergic one.

Naturally, each type has its own therapy, which is not applicable to the treatment of another. On the contrary, drugs can seriously harm a person with a fungal infection.

Treatment of the disease

Pathology is treated comprehensively. Therapy is carried out local means, infused directly into the conjunctiva: Amphotericin B, Natamycin, Nystatin, these also include Nystatin ointment, placed under the lower and upper eyelid before bedtime. In addition, the treatment complex includes taking medications such as Fluconazole or Intraconazole.

They will successfully fight fungal infections from the inside. In severe cases of the disease, drugs are administered intravenously to the body, for example Amphotericin B. Treatment lasts from 5 to 6 weeks. All this time the patient is under the supervision of a doctor.

Treatment is considered complete when, after the specified period, the laboratory research A smear and scraping will show that there is no fungus. The analysis is mandatory, since the symptoms of the disease disappear within a few days after the start of therapy. H

Often patients think that they have recovered and stop taking medications; the consequences of this behavior are the transition of the disease to a latent form. Treatment chronic disease much more expensive and time-consuming.

Treatment with traditional medicine

Ophthalmologists rightly believe that fungal eye infections cannot be cured with any decoctions, but they support the idea that with the help of some medicinal plants swelling and pain can be reduced.

For example, if you make a lotion from a few drops of aloe juice diluted in boiled water, then the swelling will subside significantly and the pain will subside. Pieces have the same effect fresh cucumber, placed on eyelids.

An infusion of chamomile flowers is widely used for making lotions. It is useful to drink to strengthen the body's immune system and strengthen the intestines. To improve immunity, it is recommended to take a decoction of rose hips.

Disease prevention

Whatever it is effective treatment, it is better to prevent a disease than to fight it later. To do this, you must follow several rules of prevention:

You should always use your own towel and never someone else’s. A person may not know that he is a carrier, he just the immune system So far it is coping with the fungus, but yours may not be able to cope.
In dusty workshops, rooms and regions, sealed dust goggles should always be worn.
If a person wears contact lenses, they must follow the prescribed rules for their care and storage. Many people, having recovered from fungal conjunctivitis, wear their old lenses and become infected again. Therefore, ophthalmologists recommend treating lenses with medications (the medicine is added to the container for storing them) or simply replacing them with new ones after recovery.
You should regularly work on strengthening your immunity, because the fungus in the eye begins its destructive activity only when it is weakened. So playing sports proper nutrition and refusal bad habits Not only will they improve your health, but they will also prevent the development of pathologies such as fungal conjunctivitis.

You should not wait for weather by the sea. At the first symptoms of the disease, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Video

Fungal conjunctivitis - ophthalmic disease, the development of which is caused by various types fungi. May occur with purulent or catarrh, depending on the type of pathogen. The disease is difficult to treat drug treatment, in which a complex of drugs is used. Symptoms and treatment depend on the type of fungal pathogen.

Every person has fungi on the surface of their skin that come from environment. But thanks to the work of the body’s defenses, they do not cause the development of diseases. When the immune system is weakened, the pathogenic fungus begins to multiply and spread throughout the body, causing unpleasant symptoms and development of diseases. More than 60 of their varieties are known to science today, but only a few are capable of triggering the occurrence of conjunctivitis. These include:

aspergillus;
actinomycetes;
candida;
sporothrix;
Eoccidia.

Not all of them are present on the surface of the skin or on the mucous membranes of the eyes and other organs, as well as the conjunctival cavity. Infection can occur through contact with animals, sick people, soil or water.

Factors that significantly increase the likelihood of developing fungal conjunctivitis include:

Injury to the mucous membrane.
Radiation burns of the eyes.
Diabetes mellitus of the first or second group.
Mycosis of the upper layer of the epidermis.
Violation of hygiene rules when using contact lenses.
Mycotic blepharitis.
Long-term use of antibiotics to treat certain diseases.
Immunodeficiency. People diagnosed with AIDS are more susceptible to fungal conjunctivitis.

The risk group also includes patients who have been taking glucocorticoid drugs for quite a long time.

Fungal conjunctivitis is a contagious disease. That is why you should protect yourself from contact with the sick and not use other people’s hygiene products.

The fungus enters the body through microcracks in the mucous membrane, where the environment is more favorable for development. In patients suffering diabetes mellitus, wounds on the surface of the skin take quite a long time to heal, through which fungi enter.

Conjunctivitis in children can occur immediately after birth, when the infection is transmitted through the mother during passage through the birth canal.

Symptoms

There are not many clinical signs, and they depend on the type of pathogen. In some cases there are:

granulomatous growths;
various grainy inclusions;
meibomian gland infarctions.

When the cause is actinomycosis, nodules form on the surface of the eyelid, containing pus inside. Over time, they soften and open, forming non-healing fistulas.

Coccidioidomycosis is characterized by the appearance of ulcers with plaque greenish color. They appear on the conjunctiva in the form of phlyctene-like nodules. The granulomatous type of conjunctivitis is also characterized by the appearance of purulent exudate.

If the cause of development is candida, a film is observed that is easily removed and has a grayish or yellowish tint. The presence of papillary type growths is also noted. Conjunctivitis of this type often confused with chalazion or stye, since external manifestations quite similar.

The disease is not characterized by many symptoms, and lack of treatment can lead to deformation of the eyelids, deterioration or complete loss of vision.

Diagnostics

The main diagnostic method is visual inspection, during which an experienced doctor can easily diagnose the disease. In order to identify the pathogen, laboratory tests are carried out:

Microscopy of scraping. The material is collected from the conjunctiva.
Cytology.
Bacteriological culture.

These diagnostic methods allow not only to establish the type of fungus, but also the presence inflammatory process in the body, exclude malignant tumors or other eye diseases and identify the nature of the infection.

You may also need to consult a gynecologist, dermatologist, venereologist, otolaryngologist or urologist. The specialist makes a preliminary diagnosis and prescribes everything necessary research, studies their results and treats the child or adult with an ophthalmologist.

Treatment

A feature of the pathology is the duration of therapy. Treatment often lasts from 21 days to 6 weeks, provided that all specialist recommendations are followed. After recovery in mandatory Repeated laboratory tests should be carried out to exclude the disease from becoming chronic.

When diagnosing fungal conjunctivitis, the use of fungicidal and antimycotic drugs is indicated. In addition, fungistatic agents are used.

At night, nystatin ointment should be placed behind the eyelids. IN daytime Natamycin must be used.

The disease is treated with antifungal drugs. The most effective are intraconazole and fluconazole. Choice medicine depends on the type of fungus that caused the development of the pathology. In case of complex flow it is indicated intravenous administration amphotercine B. This helps to quickly relieve visible symptoms, alleviate the patient’s condition and reduce the risk of complications.

Fungal conjunctivitis is a pathology that develops in both adults and children. In order to reduce the risk of the disease, preventive measures should be observed, especially when using contact lenses, to avoid injury to the mucous membrane and radiation burns of the eyes. If symptoms appear, you should contact a specialist. This is the only way to prevent the development of complications.