n mid June, due to the flood, Guangdong Province witnessed the epidemic situation of Acute Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis, which is usually called Pink Eye Disease.

Pink Eye Disease usually occurs in summer and autumn, which is a highly infectious disease caused by virus. Group morbidity is usually expected with a short incubation period (the shortest being 2-3 hours, and the longest around 24 hours), and rapid transmission. Usually, patients can automatically recover from this disease. However, as the weather becomes increasingly hot, with the school holiday at hand, people going swimming are multiplied, the prevention of “Pink Eye Disease” shall not be ignored.

When Pink Eye Disease occurs, there are a series of symptoms, including foreign body sensation in the eye, photophobia, lachrymation and small amount of mucous secretion. Above 70% of patients suffer spot or patch hemorrhage underneath bulbar conjunctiva. Such bleeding may be found throughout the whole bulbar conjunctiva in some serious cases, which is also the reason why it is called “Pink Eye Disease”. Besides ocular symptoms, there are also some other symptoms, like fever, runny nose, angina, lymph node enlargement in front of ears and below the jaw, and so on.

Pink Eye Disease is mainly communicated through contagion. People may get infected when they touch the objects contaminated by the tears or secretions of Pink Eye patients, such as towels, handkerchiefs, basins, and so on; water sources, such as swimming pool or public bathroom, likewise contaminated, may effectuate a large-scale epidemic situation. There once prevails a major epidemic of Pink Eye Disease in Beijing in 1988, which led to the suspension of classes, production and business, and caused an immense disorder to the society and the ordinary life of citizens.

A good personal hygienic habit is the most effective for the preventing Pink Eye Disease. Thus you should: firstly, frequently wash your hands, and do not use the hands to rub the eyes; towels and basins should not be shared with other people, neither shall some cosmetics, such as eye-shadow and mascara. Secondly, never swim or bathe in unqualified swimming pools and bathrooms; do not have hairdressing at unlicensed street beauty salons; adopt isolation measures where Pink Eye patients are around, and avoid direct contacts with the patients or the objects used by them; wash your hands after unexpected contacts with  the objects used by the patients; use boiled water to disinfect the objects used by the patients.

So far, there are no specific medical treatments for Pink Eye Disease. Here I would like to remind the audience again: Never ignore the prevention of “Pink Eye Disease” in summer!