220 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
TRACHOMA
Trachoma is a chronic infection that slowly gets worse. It may last for months or
many years. If not treated early, it sometimes causes blindness. It is spread by touch or
by flies, and is most common where people live in poor, crowded conditions.
Signs:
• Trachoma begins with red, watery eyes, like
ordinary conjunctivitis.
• After a month or more, small, pinkish gray
lumps, called follicles, form inside the upper
eyelids. To see these, turn back the lid as
shown on p. 218.
• The white of the eye is a little red.
• After a few months, if you look very carefully,
or with a magnifying glass, you may see that
the top edge of the cornea looks grayish,
because it has many tiny new blood vessels
in it (pannus).
• The combination of both follicles and pannus
is almost certainly trachoma.
• After several years, the follicles begin to
disappear, leaving whitish scars.
These scars make the eyelids thick
and may keep them from opening
or closing all the way.
Or the scarring may pull the eyelashes
down into the eye, scratching the
cornea and causing blindness.
Treatment of trachoma:
Put 1% tetracycline or erythromycin eye ointment (p. 378) inside the eye 3 times
each day, or 3% tetracycline or erythromycin eye ointment 1 time each day. Do this for
30 days. For a complete cure, also take tetracycline (p. 355), erythromycin (p. 354) or a
sulfonamide (p. 356) by mouth for 2 to 3 weeks.
Prevention:
Early and complete treatment of trachoma helps prevent its spread to others. All
persons living with someone who has trachoma, especially children, should have
their eyes examined often and if signs appear, they should be treated early. Washing
the face every day can help prevent trachoma. Also, it is very important to follow the
Guidelines of Cleanliness, explained in Chapter 12.
Cleanliness helps prevent trachoma.