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The pink eye is likely to be epidemic. |
After the pink eye broke out and spread in Hanoi, many cases of this disease have been recorded recently in Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces, posing a risk of an epidemic.
Ophthalmologist Nguyen Dinh Trung Chinh from the HCMC-based Children's Hospital 2’s Inter-specialty Department said that the hospital has lately received many children with acute conjunctivitis, including those with symptoms of bleeding. Most children with conjunctivitis recover quickly after being treated as prescribed by the doctor, but the ophthalmologist warned if they don’t receive timely treatment, it can cause corneal ulcer complications, greatly affecting vision.
Not only children but many adults have also suffered from pink eye recently. Doctor Nguyen Thanh Luan from the University Medical Center in HCMC’s Department of Ophthalmology informed that there has been an escalation in the number of cases of pink eye at the hospital recently adding that doctors examine 15-20 cases on average in each shift whereas before it was only a few cases.
At Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital, the number of patients visiting for pink eye has also increased in recent days, many cases have to go to the emergency room due to complications.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Bach Tuyet from the HCMC-based Children's Hospital 2 said that Most cases of pink eye are bilateral, meaning they occur in both eyes. If the cause is an infection, symptoms may begin in one eye and spread to the other. Typical symptoms include redness and a gritty sensation in your eye, along with itching. Often a discharge forms a crust on your eyelashes during the night.
The pink eye epidemic has increased abnormally in the capital city of Hanoi. According to Dr. Luu Quynh Anh, Deputy Head of the National Children Hospital’s Department of Ophthalmology, the pink eye often appears in spring-summer, easily becoming an epidemic.
She warned of an abnormal increase in the cases of pink eye these days. Worse, many children infected with the disease are having dangerous complications. In the past 1 month, the Hospital's Ophthalmology Department has continuously received over 50 pediatric patients a day with acute conjunctivitis; and up to 20 percent of the cases have severe complications.
Along with the pink eye disease, the Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital has received many children for examination of refractive errors in the last three months. There was a surge of 20 percent-30 percent of children who came to the hospital to have had their refractive errors examined compared to usual.
