PADUCAH — Holiday gatherings over the past couple of weeks have led to a rise in cases of pink eye, according to local medical experts. However, pink eye can be an indicator of a much bigger problem.
Holiday gatherings over the past couple of weeks have led to a rise in cases of pink eye, according to local medical experts. However, pink eye can be an indicator of a much bigger problem.
Conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye, can sometimes mean someone has COVID-19.
In 2020, when patients were first being diagnosed with COVID-19, nurses at Baptist Health Paducah said they would look for pink eye because the viral disease can travel to one or both eyes.
“It spreads on surfaces and on skin contact so if I were to shake your hand, hug you and I had some drainage from my eye, I got it on my hand now I’ve passed it to you or to the surface you may touch,” said Baptist Health Nurse Kathy Crawford.
Crawford said conjunctivitis could mean the person has COVID-19. “That was actually one of the first signs they had us looking for,” said Crawford, talking about diagnosing people when COVID-19 first became a problem. “The redness to your eye or sinus congestion or a cough, it was one of the hallmark signs we’re looking for there for a while.”
“It spreads on surfaces and on skin contact so if I were to shake your hand, hug you and I had some drainage from my eye, I got it on my hand now I’ve passed it to you or to the surface you may touch,” said Baptist Health Nurse Kathy Crawford.
Crawford said Baptist Health doesn’t have exact data for the number of pink eye cases during this holiday season, but they’ve seen a rise in pink eye since the start of COVID-19.
Crawford said pink eye isn’t just an indicator of COVID-19. If you have pink eye, you could possibly have the flu or strep throat, too. The illnesses can travel to places like the eye.
“Viral pink eye or conjunctivitis is more prevalent in viruses so if you have like a flu or COVID-19 or something like that, then it can spread to the eye causing inflammation and causing pink eye,” said Crawford.
She said the holiday season provided more opportunities for people to gather and interact with each other, and that means more chances to get sick.
“The close proximity in houses, in cars, on airplanes, traveling to their destinations and back, I think that the more that they’re together and the closer that they are, it spreads easier,” said Crawford.
Make sure you wash your hands to combat sicknesses like pink eye.
The most common pink eye symptoms are redness in one or both eyes, itchiness, sensitivity to light and tearing.
Also, you may get discharge in one or both eyes that forms a crust during the night, which can prevent your eyes from opening in the morning.
If you have pink eye, nurses said pat your eye with a warm, wet, clean towel. Throw away your eye makeup if you use it. Also, change your bedsheets.
