Most often, swelling of the eyelids in people causes swelling of the eyes with allergies, and treatment should be carried out not only by an ophthalmologist, but also by an allergist.
The skin around the eyes is the most delicate and sensitive, so when an allergen hits it, it instantly swells up. An allergic reaction on the eyelids occurs most quickly. Also, the eyelids can swell when the allergen enters the body not through the mucous membrane of the eye, but through Airways, food and skin. The cause of an allergy can be a foreign object that has entered the eye, although in itself it does not pose a danger to the body.
Types of manifestations of allergies in the eyes
Most often, puffiness in the eyes can go away within a few hours. This indicates a small amount of allergens or a timely reaction of the body.
. Most often, an allergic reaction in the form of swelling of the eyelids and puffiness occurs in people who use lenses daily. With allergic conjunctivitis, the irritant can be brought along with the lens or when fingers touch the sensitive skin of the eyelids. With severe damage, it can develop into keratoconjunctivitis and even keratitis.
Large papillary conjunctivitis. It occurs when small objects get into the eye: grains of sand, eyelashes, metal and wood shavings, etc. They are.
Drug conjunctivitis. Allergy in this case occurs on medicines. A similar reaction can occur as when taking eye drops and ointments, and from other medicines.
infectious conjunctivitis. Appears in the background chronic infection eyes when exposed to an allergen.
Pollinous conjunctivitis. It is an example of a manifestation seasonal allergies. Occurs due to pollen or poplar fluff.
Eye allergy symptoms
Puffiness in the eyes most often appears due to dust, animal hair, various chemical cleaning powders, mold, insect bites. When developed, the eyes may swell within minutes without other symptoms.
In another case, an allergic reaction develops from 20 minutes to an hour. Throughout the reaction, the following symptoms may be present:
- Itching. This is the first sign of an allergy. Scratching the eyes is not recommended due to the risk of possible infection and the development of conjunctivitis.
- Burning. After a few minutes, the itching becomes unbearable and develops into a burning sensation. It can increase with scratching and blinking.
- Photophobia. Any light, including sunlight, can cause discomfort up to pain. Along with it, a headache may occur.
- Lachrymation. It is a consequence of burning, itching and photophobia. The body tries to protect one of the most important organs - the eye. Tears often relieve pain and burning in the eyes.
- Redness eyeball and age. It occurs due to a sharp rush of blood and intense scratching.
- Edema of the eyelids. May develop gradually or instantly. Severe swelling of the eyes indicates the possible occurrence of a focal infection.
- Feeling foreign body in the eye. It can occur if a barley is formed when a foreign body enters the eye.
Symptoms of allergic edema can be confused with inflammation on the eye or with traumatic edema. But, unlike them, with allergies, pus is rarely released, with pressure, the pain does not increase or is simply absent. Also, swelling can occur in only one eye. This is due to the allergen getting directly into the eye.
First aid for swelling
When an allergic eye edema occurs, first aid is very important.
If the eyes swell instantly, literally "swim", this may indicate Quincke's edema, in which it is possible anaphylactic shock. The patient should be given immediately antihistamines and call an ambulance.
If the edema develops gradually, it is urgent to take anti-allergic tablets. For those who use contact lenses, it is necessary to remove them and not wear them for several days, and then replace them with new ones: allergen elements and bacteria dangerous to the eyes may remain on the old ones.
Cotton pads moistened with cool water will help relieve burning and itching. boiled water. In no case should warm or cold objects be applied to the affected eye. This can lead to the development of inflammation.
Treatment of allergic eye swelling
Most eye swelling resolves almost asymptomatically and quickly. But if the allergen re-enters the mucous surface of the eyelids, the reaction can be more global and have serious consequences.
If left untreated, inflammation can begin, turning into a disease dangerous for the eyes - keratitis.
This can cause visual impairment and even blindness.
Usually, with allergies, the symptoms disappear after one, maximum a few days. It can only occur once. The reason for this is other eye diseases, injuries, beriberi. But at frequent inflammation eyes and a recurrence of an allergic reaction, you should consult a doctor.
An allergist can help prescribe proper treatment. The allergen that caused the puffiness can be identified using special analysis blood.
At the beginning of treatment, it is necessary to exclude contact with the allergen. Most often they become:
- dust and pollen;
- animal hair;
- cosmetics, including eye creams and perfumes;
- tap or natural water;
- sunlight.
For the period of treatment, it is necessary to follow a special diet, refuse to wear lenses and use cosmetics, go out less often.
When usually combine several drugs:
- Eye ointments. They act directly on the site of inflammation, relieve itching and burning in the eyes, and reduce tearing.
- Hormonal ointments (advantan). Help to deal with allergic reaction, reduce swelling.
- Antihistamine tablets (suprastin, tavegil, etc.). They help to quickly cope with allergies, remove related ones, such as sneezing and a runny nose.
- Vasoconstrictor eye drops. Their task is to relieve swelling and redness.
In the treatment of an allergic reaction, you can use auxiliary means that will ease the symptoms and treatment. For example, brewer's yeast. They will help restore the skin and increase the body's resistance to external stimuli. Soothe the skin will help special lotions from medicinal herbs(chamomile, sage, string). It is necessary to ensure that the decoction does not fall into the area between the eyes and does not flow onto the eyeball.
If the allergy is not only observed in the eyes, but also manifested by swelling of the lips, neck, reddening of the skin, rash, sneezing, disruption of work gastrointestinal tract treated with immunotherapy. In this case, small doses of the allergen are injected under the skin of the patient. Such a vaccine helps the body learn to cope with allergies on its own.
Prevention of allergic edema in the eyes
People who often suffer from allergies should be careful not to let the potential allergen get into the eyes and on the skin of the eyelids.
During the period of exacerbation, excessive use of decorative cosmetics should be avoided. It is worth choosing only proven, high-quality brands and constantly monitor the expiration date. Special attention you need to pay attention to mascara, shadows and eye makeup remover.
Eye lenses should always be removed at night and changed regularly after use.
If the body is prone to seasonal allergies in the spring, it is necessary to limit going outside during the period of abundant flowering of fruit trees and cereals. It is recommended not to keep flowering plants in the house.
If necessary, regularly carry out wet cleaning at home. Fabric upholstered furniture, large feather pillows and blankets are potential dust spots.
Swelling of the eyes can be caused not only by an allergic reaction. Eyelid swelling is due to long work at a computer or laptop, reading in poor light, with impaired kidney function and excessive alcohol consumption.
“White snow covered the whole stitch with white snow” - these lines from the song are relevant at the end of May and June, when the cities of Russia begin to flood Poplar fluff. But unlike snow, it not only covers all urban surfaces, but also brazenly breaks into houses and apartments, penetrates car interiors, stuffs itself into the nose, mouth and eyes. People are perplexed, who came up with the idea to plant in settlements precisely poplars, were there really no other trees?
Meanwhile, the choice fell on poplars not by chance. Russian scientists back in the 60s of the last century calculated that from the period of the first green leaves in spring to the dropping of the last yellow leaves in late autumn, one poplar absorbs from 20 to 30 kilograms of dust and exhaust gases from the air. And the volume of oxygen released by one poplar is equal to the volume that ten birches or seven spruces, four pines or three lindens emit. In addition, poplar is unpretentious: it is difficult to find such an ecologically unfavorable area where poplar could not adapt and take root. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to find a replacement for him.
In 2008, the results of a study by American scientists were published, according to which poplars absorb and break down such pollutants. environment, as carbon tetrachloride, gasoline, vinyl chloride and other derivatives of industrial enterprises.
One problem - poplar fluff. Most consider it one of the most dangerous allergens. But a candidate of biological sciences from the Vinnitsa National medical university Victoria Rodinkova refutes this assumption. The specialists of the institute studied samples of poplar fluff from rural and urban areas. It turned out that the “rural” down had practically no allergenic pollen in its composition, but in the “urban” it was abundant. But that was the pollen of other plants.
Scientists explain this by the high-speed flow of air masses, which is largely facilitated by high-rise buildings. Probably, everyone has come across a phenomenon when, in windy weather, the so-called pipe effect occurs between houses: the wind blows with furious force in a certain area. It carries the down along with the pollen attached to it. flowering trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers. By the way, if we talk about the most allergenic trees, then scientists put birch with its catkins, which are very harmful for allergy sufferers, in the first place. Directly poplar fluff is harmful mainly because of its ability to fill everywhere. Getting into the nasal or oral cavity, it simply irritates the mucous membrane, and if it gets into the eyes, it causes redness.
Another nuisance that poplar fluff delivers is related to cars. Evgeny Serdyuk, chief expert of Rosoboronexport, explains: the smallest particles of gravel, sand and other rubbish flying out from under the wheels of the car in front end up in the radiator grille, and poplar fluff absorbs all this garbage, forming a felt pad. When it reaches a certain size, the car engine starts to overheat.
Poplar moth becomes a real disaster for city dwellers. During the period when poplars shed down, moths settle on trees and lay their eggs there. Gradually, she moves to permanent residence in the apartments of the townspeople.
Fire is another disaster that comes along with poplar fluff. An unextinguished cigarette thrown on the ground, a “downy carpet” specially set on fire by teenagers, followed by dry grass flaring up - and now the surroundings are blazing.
Today in all major cities of the world are seriously concerned about the problem of replacing poplars with other trees. In Moscow, Samara and Tomsk, for example, poplar planting is prohibited. And where they are still growing, they are treated with a special solution that prevents the seeds from opening.
In a number European countries, according to a staff member of the Latvian botanical garden Inare Bondare, specialists are engaged in the selection of male poplars, which, unlike female ones, do not give fluff.
Since the early eighties, the city of Edmonton in Canada has completely replaced poplars with other trees. And if one of the residents still wants to plant a poplar on their plot of land, then landscape designers include it in their new project and strongly recommend using male poplars or sterile varieties of this tree bred in special nurseries.
“The snowy night covered the whole stitch with white snow” - these lines from the song are relevant precisely in May-June, when poplar fluff begins to fill the cities of Russia. But unlike snow, it not only covers all urban surfaces, but also brazenly breaks into houses and apartments, penetrates car interiors, stuffs itself into the nose, mouth and eyes. People are perplexed, who came up with the idea to plant poplars in settlements, were there really no other trees?
Meanwhile, the choice fell on poplars not by chance. Russian scientists back in the 60s of the last century calculated that from the period of the first green leaves in spring to the dropping of the last yellow leaves in late autumn, one poplar absorbs from 20 to 30 kilograms of dust and exhaust gases from the air. And the volume of oxygen released by one poplar is equal to the volume that ten birches or seven spruces, four pines or three lindens emit. It is difficult to find such an ecologically unfavorable area where poplar could not adapt and take root. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to find a replacement for him.
And in 2008, studies by American scientists were published, according to which poplars absorb and break down environmental pollutants such as carbon tetrachloride, gasoline, vinyl chloride and other derivatives of industrial enterprises.
One problem - poplar fluff. Most consider it one of the most dangerous allergens. Viktoria Rodinkova, candidate of biological sciences from the Vinnitsa National Medical University, refutes this assumption. The specialists of the institute examined samples of poplar fluff from rural and urban areas. It turned out that the “rural” fluff had practically no allergenic pollen in its composition, but in the “urban” it was in abundance. But that was the pollen of other plants.
Scientists explain this by the high-speed flow of air masses, which is largely facilitated by high-rise buildings. Probably, everyone has come across a phenomenon when, in windy weather, a so-called pipe effect occurs between houses: the wind blows with furious force at a certain interval of space. Carrying fluff from nearby trees, the wind also carries the pollen of other trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers that has settled on it. By the way, if we talk about the most allergenic trees, then in the first place scientists will call birch with its catkins, which are very harmful for allergy sufferers. Directly poplar fluff brings more harm because of his ability to fill everywhere. Getting into the nasal or oral cavity, it simply irritates the mucous membrane, and causes irritation and redness in the eyes.
Another nuisance that poplar fluff delivers is related to cars. Evgeny Serdyuk, chief expert of Rosoboronexport, explains: the smallest particles of gravel, sand, rubbish - everything that flies out from under the wheels of the car in front gets into the radiator grille, and poplar fluff binds it all, forming a felt pad. When it reaches a certain size, the car engine starts to overheat.
Poplar moth becomes a real disaster for city dwellers. During the period when poplars shed down, moths settle on trees and lay their eggs there. Gradually, she moves to permanent residence in the apartments of the townspeople. Moth repellents become the most popular product in summer.
Fire is another disaster that comes along with poplar fluff. An unextinguished cigarette thrown to the ground, a “downy carpet” specially set on fire by teenagers, followed by dry grass flaring up - and now the surroundings are blazing.
Today, in all major cities of the world, they are seriously concerned about the problem of replacing poplars with other trees. Poplar planting is prohibited in Russian Moscow, Samara, Tomsk. And where they are still growing, they are treated with a special solution that prevents the seeds from opening.
In a number of European countries, according to Inare Bondare, an employee of the Latvian Botanical Garden, there are programs for selecting male poplars, which, unlike female ones, do not give fluff. Since the beginning of the eighties in the city of Edmonton (Canada), poplars have been completely replaced with other trees. And if one of the residents still wants to plant a poplar or landscape designers include them in their new project, they are strongly recommended to use male poplars, or sterile varieties of this tree bred in special nurseries.
In contact with
Classmates
Poplar fluff sets anti-records
Poplar fluff sets anti-records in Krasnoyarsk. Because of him, the firefighters were knocked off their feet. They have to go out a hundred times a day, and I'm not exaggerating, to put out the fired down. And it would be nice if only he burned, but the fire from him spreads to the garages. One of these had already burned down the day before, as did the abandoned building on Malinovsky Street. Not only firefighters and victims of fires suffer from this. Anton Popov figured out today why Krasnoyarsk will have a stigma in the cannon for a long time to come.
Evgenia says that a pile of dry wood and branches with fluff in the middle of the yard is like a bomb. The management company has not removed this mountain for several days. Nearby is a garage, a gas tank, and a car burned down a few meters the day before, according to one version, after poplar fluff was set on fire. In this yard, it seems like you can drown in it.
Firefighters are breaking down fire attendance records this week. Burning cars, garages, fences, wooden flocks and landfills. The Ministry of Emergency Situations says that the story is almost like with spring grass.
Alexander Yakimov, head of the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Krasnoyarsk Territory:
“People think that by setting fire to down, they apparently benefit, and yet it turns out that on Sunday there were about 80 calls, on the 25th there were 102 calls, where we went to fire down.
Not only firefighters suffer because of poplar fluff, but also allergy sufferers. After spring flowering, they now have a second wave of sneezes.
Veronika Ivanova, therapist:
- I personally note, as a district doctor, that exacerbations, or acute conditions become more frequent. - What do people do? - WITH allergic rhinitis, dermatitis, exacerbation of bronchial asthma.
The Department of Municipal Economy says Krasnoyarsk residents have simply lost the habit of fluff over the past couple of years. Then, during flowering, the earrings were knocked down by wind and rain. This summer, the trees seem to have decided to win back and are strenuously scattering seeds. Therefore, there is no special program to combat white scourge in the mayor's office. Officials have not planted poplars for 10 years already, and the old trees themselves are gradually dying out. In addition, the retired governor Tolokonsky bequeathed not to spare poplars at the construction sites of the Universiade.
Biologists call this attitude to the downy problem a crime. If all the poplars are destroyed, there will be nothing to breathe in the city.
Elena Selenina, director of the SibFU Botanical Garden:
— It is simply impossible to refuse poplars in Krasnoyarsk. It will be a crime. Not a single tree builds up phyto-mass so quickly, not a single tree in the city retains so much dust.
But this did not stop the public utilities from cutting down a whole alley of poplars in Vetluzhanka a few days ago. True, in return they promised to plant seedlings of apple, elm and ash. But scientists are indignant, in order to defeat fluff, it is enough to mark all female poplars, which give flying seeds, and replace them with male seedlings in the spring.
In contact with
