KARACHI: Conjunctivitis, commonly known as pinkeye or bloodshot eyes, has taken the shape of an epidemic in Karachi as increasing numbers of patients have been reporting with this problem at various private and public health care facilities.
Doctors have advised people to take preventive measures and not to resort to self-medication to avoid permanent damage to the vision.
According to professor Mazhar-ul-Haq, the Chief of the Ophthalmology Department at Sule Hospital the prevalence of eye-related diseases is rapidly increasing across various neighborhoods in Karachi. People of all ages are suffering from these illnesses, and what’s more worrisome is that the infections appear to be passing from one person to another.
To a query, he said conjunctivitis was largely a self-limiting condition and therefore citizens must not resort to self-medication as it may trigger complications. “Tendency to apply rose water and even specific eye drops, often with high content of cortisone tend to be harmful,” said the ophthalmologist.
