From: Clinical and public health management of conjunctivitis in the Israel Defense Forces
Clinical characteristics/Etiology | Bacterial | Viral | Self-inflicted |
---|---|---|---|
Duration | Can be prolonged without treatment. Treatment hastens recovery | Days to weeks | Can be prolonged. Weeks to months |
Bilateral/unilateral | Usually spreads to the other eye within days | Usually spreads to the other eye within days | Varies |
Type of discharge | Mostly purulent discharge | Mostly aqueous, possibly mucoid discharge | Tearing and excessive discharge, fresh and dry purulent discharge on eyelids and periorbital skin |
Swollen lymph glands | Not common | Common | Not common |
Concomitant signs | None | Pyrexia , pharyngitis | Emotional or social stress, multiple physical complaints |
Complications | Uncommon | Uncommon | Uncommon |
Additional findings | Ocular irritation | Diffuse conjunctival involvement. Foreign body sensation | Mainly involvement of the lower conjunctiva. Discharge and edema are conspicuously prominent in relation to the conjunctival hyperemia |
Response to treatment | Usually subsides without treatment. | Usually subsides without treatment. | Non-responsive to treatment |
Responds well to antibiotics | |||
Epidemiological characteristics | Contagious. Can lead to an outbreak | Very contagious. Can lead to an outbreak | Rarely the cause of an outbreak. Is usually diagnosed in a single soldier for secondary gain and not in a cluster |