Conjunctivitis: Management and Complications (Pediatric Nursing)

00:00 So how do we treat pink eye? Well, it really depends on the cause.

00:04 If it's viral, it's self-limiting. It's going to go away on its own.

00:08 If it's bacterial, remember it's usually self-limiting, but antibiotics can shorten the course and allow release back into the community.

00:16 And this is really important. So, we tell patients they need to use their eye drops.

00:20 And once they've used them for 24 hours, they're released back to school and back to work even though they need to complete the antibiotic course.

00:27 Allergic pink eye is treated with eye flushing, getting rid of the trigger, limiting exposure and needs antihistamine eye drops.

00:35 And irritant pink eye is fixed by flushing the eyes and limiting exposure.

00:40 So, we always educate patients that we think your pink eye is viral or we think your pink eye is bacterial.

00:47 This is how it should improve.

00:48 But I always tell patients, if you're not getting better as expected, we need to see you back because some conditions can cause very serious complications.

00:56 So, we also wanna tell patients, never to share personal items and this includes makeup.

01:01 Cover your cough or sneeze to prevent the spread of viral pink eye.

01:06 Wash your hands frequently, and it's a very good education point.

01:10 Tell your patients, hand sanitizer does not kill the pathogens that caused pinkeye.

01:15 So they really truly need to wash their hands.

01:18 They want to frequently clean fomites and this includes items in their house like doorknobs, countertops.

01:23 A lot of these pathogens can live for quite a while.

01:26 They wanna have good contact lens care.

01:29 And when they swim, they'll wanna wear goggles.

01:32 Complications of conjunctivitis are rare.

01:35 But you need to consider that something more serious maybe going on and refer the patient immediately to an ophthalmologist to exclude an ocular emergency.

01:44 If your patient has severe pain -- because severe pain is not associated with pinkeye.

01:50 If your patient has eye trauma or a foreign body that you're not able to easily remove.

01:55 If your patient has vision changes, you also want to referred to ophthalmology but I -- wait.

02:01 So if a patient has a lot of purulent drainage and they're trying to blink through it and they say they really just can't see the eye chart because of the discharge, I have them clean their eyes and we try again.

02:11 So be sure it's a true vision change.

02:13 If the patient has a fever, this can be a sign of something more serious and is not common with pinkeye.

02:18 If the patient has a severe headache, and this can be associated with acute glaucoma's and other sort of scary conditions. So refer these patients immediately.

02:26 And then if your patient is worsening despite unexpected improvement, then that is not normal and they need to see the specialist.