-public advised to seek physician’s diagnosis
Hundreds of persons have been afflicted with Conjunctivitis or ‘Red eye’ in recent weeks and Head of the Ophthalmology Department at the Georgetown Hospital, Dr George Norton advises the public to seek out a physician for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Norton said persons exhibiting symptoms should not rely on pharmaceutical advice as there are two strains of Red eye: one is bacterial and the other, caused by a virus. If antibiotics are used to treat the viral infection it will not work. Conjunctivitis affects babies, children, adults and the elderly and often lasts about one week.
Speaking to this newspaper on Thursday, Norton said he treats about 15 persons per day. He said he noticed an increase in the number of persons afflicted with the condition at the start of the rainy season, which was puzzling as conjunctivitis usually occurs during dry, windy conditions and was prevalent during August. Norton said he could give no reasonable explanation for this change.