Allergic conjunctivitis in children
Allergic conjunctivitis causes red, watery, and itchy eyes. The most common cause is an allergy to pollen when symptoms occur in the hay fever season. Other causes are less common. Eye drops usually ease symptoms.
What is conjunctivitis?
Conjunctivitis means inflammation of the conjunctiva. The conjunctiva is the thin 'skin' that covers the white part of the eyes and the inside of the eyelids.
What causes conjunctivitis?
Allergy is another common cause.
Irritant conjunctivitis sometimes occurs. For example, your conjunctiva may become red and inflamed after getting some shampoo in your eyes. The chlorine in swimming baths is a common cause of mild irritant conjunctivitis.
The rest of this leaflet is about conjunctivitis caused by allergy.
What causes allergic conjunctivitis?
Allergy means that the immune system 'over-reacts' to something which causes inflammation. Causes include the following:
Pollen Most cases of allergic conjunctivitis occur in the hay fever season. Symptoms tend to last a few weeks each year. This is called 'seasonal conjunctivitis'. Grass pollens tend to cause symptoms in early summer. Various other pollens and moulds may cause symptoms later in the summer. Other symptoms of hay fever may also occur at the same time such as a runny nose and sore throat.
Perennial conjunctivitis
This is a conjunctivitis that persists throughout the year. This is commonly due to an allergy to house dust mite. House dust mite is a tiny insect that lives in every home. It mainly lives in bedrooms and mattresses, as part of the dust. People with perennial conjunctivitis usually also have perennial allergic rhinitis which causes symptoms such as sneezing and a runny nose. Symptoms tend to be worse each morning when you wake up.
Allergies to animals
Coming into contact with some animals can cause a bout of allergic conjunctivitis. (Again, nose symptoms such as sneezing and runny nose often also occur.)
Cosmetics, eye make-up, eye-drops, and other chemicals
In some of these cases, the eye is directly irritated by the chemical. In some cases, the eye becomes sensitised and the chemical causes an allergic response. In this condition the skin on the eyelids also tends to become inflamed.
Giant papillary conjunctivitis
This is uncommon. It is inflammation of the conjunctiva lining the upper eyelid. It occurs in some people who have a 'foreign body' on the eye - most commonly a contact lens. The exact cause of the inflammation is not known - it is possibly an allergic reaction to 'debris' caught behind a lens or to poor lens hygiene. About 1 in 100 contact lens wearers develop this type of conjunctivitis.
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Maria Jose Pinilla, 10 months
I want to know stories of people with conjunctivitis....you dont have anyone? It dont matter the place or things like that...only want to have a story!
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