Comments
Face masks have, now, become a part of our daily gear for protection against airborne pathogens, which enter our bodies through our nose and mouth.
Photophobia, sore eyes, and itchy eyes can indicate Covid 19, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Professor Shahina Pardhan, Lead Author, Director of the Institute of Vision and Ayear Research at ARU, said, "This is the first study to examine the various eye symptoms of conjunctive disease in connection with Covid-19 its time frame, and its duration.”
"While it is important that ocular symptoms are included in the list of possible Covid-19 symptoms, we argue that sore eyes should replace 'conjunctivitis' as it is important to differentiate from symptoms of other types of infections, such as bacterial infections, which manifest as mucous discharge or gritty eyes," she added.
A study by a group of researchers at the Anglia Ruskin University, in East Anglia, United Kingdom (UK) found that sore eyes were significantly more common when the participants had Covid-19. 16 per cent of the participants reported the issue as one of their symptoms. Only five per cent were reported to have had the condition beforehand.
These disease usually occur through different routes, including the eyes and airborne droplets as in the case of Covid-19.
“These droplets are most likely to be inhaled through your nose or mouth, but they can also enter the body through the eyes,” says Viral Juthani, M.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
“You can also become infected if you touch a contaminated surface that has coronavirus on it, like a handle or doorknob, and then touch your eyes,” says Sonal Tuli, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Florida
In infants, the Paediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) is also linked to Covid-19.
MIS-C symptoms include high fever, eye pain, swelling, belly pain, cramps in the stomach and foot as well as hand rashes among infants.
Although the research in this field is still underway, medical experts have warned that a disease such as this may have an active effect on an infant's immune system and complications for life.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.