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Pinkeye grips Mumbai, doctors blame weather, lifestyle of youth

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Mumbai is witnessing a spurt in conjunctivitis that is taking more than a week to heal. Doctors say the mix of a powerful strain of virus and bacterial infection is behind the severity of the eye ailment. The doctor said people must maintain hygiene to keep the infection at bay.

With rains almost gone, the hot and humid weather, conducive for the virus to flourish, is resulting in more and more people with bloodshot eyes turning up at hospitals. Ophthalmologists say the other symptom includes severe pain in the eyes.

Dr Nagendra Shah, consultant eye specialist at Bombay hospital, said, "We are seeing a rise in viral conjunctivitis with corneal complications where we see white spots on cornea and there is drop in vision."

Doctors warn against self medication for conjunctivitis. Dr Harshvardhan Ghorpade, consultant ophthalmologist, Fortis hospital, said, "It is best to treat the viral conjunctivitis at the onset and show it to the doctor instead of self-treatment. Any delay in proper treatment can worsening the condition."

To stop the spread of the virus, doctors advise, citizens must wash hands regularly and not share handkerchiefs, towels, bedspreads, eye drops, cosmetics and mobile phones.

The lifestyle of youngsters has a lot to do with the condition. Experts say the youth tend to get careless in the festive season, especially during Navratri, in their bid to look good. Dr Arjun Ahuja, head of the department of ophthalmology at KEM hospital, said, "Youngsters try to match their contact lenses with their dress during Navratri. To save money, they exchange lenses and end up contracting an eye infection."

He added that the other common eye infection occurs use of contact lens for long hours. "The other problem is youngsters use drinking water or tap water for storing the lenses when they should only use the special solutions. This also is a leading cause of corneal infections."

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