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Trachoma is a sort of unknown condition of eyes, as many people don’t know about it. Trachoma is the leading cause of blindness and this in itself explains how severe this condition is. More than 8 million people are visually impaired due to trachoma. This is a contagious condition and can spread to healthy people through the bacterium present in the eyes, nose or throat secretions of the infected person. This condition affects both the eyes due to its highly contagious nature. If left untreated then it can lead to blindness. You can prevent trachoma from happening to you and if you got this condition then you can save your eyes by taking timely medical help.
In the early phase of this condition the symptoms are irritation of the eyes, mild itching of the eyes and discharge form the eyes that contains mucus and pus. As the condition will develop further there will be more symptoms like blurred vision, light sensitivity and eye pains. This condition mainly affects young children and by the time the disease progresses and shows painful symptoms the children will already be in their adulthood. The development of trachoma is quite slow and there are five stages of this development that are designed by the World Health Organization.
- Follicular Inflammation – It is the first stage of the trachoma condition in which five or more than five follicles become visible in the inner surface of the upper eyelids.
- Intense Inflammation – In this second phase of the development of trachoma, the irritation of the eyes beings and the eye becomes highly infectious. The swelling of the upper eyelids also begins in the second phase.
- Scarring of the eyelids – Due to the infectious eyes the inner eyelids show scars on it. These scars appear like white lines and this will distort the eyelids.
- Ingrown eyelashes – Due to the scarring of the inner lining of the eyelids, the eyelashes starts turning in and touches the transparent outer surface of the cornea. But only one among 100 affected people shows this painful symptom.
- Clouding of the cornea – Due to the inflammation of the upper eyelids, the cornea gets affected severally. The ingrown eyelashes lead to clouding of the cornea. This can also result in ulcers on cornea and thus causes partial or complete blindness.
In case you or your child is experiencing any kind of itching, irritation of the eyes or having any discharge form the eyes then make sure that you consult your eye specialist without delaying the condition to develop any further. Make sure that you don’t use towels, clothing and other things of the infected person. It is also advisable to avoid being near the infected person. If you have got the infection make sure that you give proper advice to your kids not to come near you. Make sure that you don’t pass on this condition into your family members and friends. By taking this much care you can limit the spreading of this condition from you to other healthy people.
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