What is conjunctivitis?

Q) Lots of children at my two-year-old’s playgroup have been coming down with conjunctivitis recently. What is this, and how can I prevent my son getting it?

A) Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva  – the membrane that lines the eyelids and covers the white part of the eye. Conjunctivitis makes the eye feel itchy and sore and is caused by infection, allergy or irritation.

As conjunctivitis is spreading through your son’s nursery it sounds as if this is an infection caused by bacteria. This type of conjunctivitis is very contagious and usually nurseries will ask affected children to stay at home until they’re better to prevent the infection spreading further.

Apart from keeping contagious children away from others, useful precautions include making sure affected children avoid sharing towels and wash their hands after touching their eyes. Children should avoid rubbing their eyes with unwashed hands.

If your son does develop it, it’s best to keep him home until it clears up. Bathe his eyes in cooled boiled water and a little salt to fight bacteria – use clean cotton wool dipped in the salt solution three times a day (use different cotton wool pads for each eye).

Alternatively,  you can get anti-bacterial eye drops or ointment from your pharmacist.

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