The Most Common Causes of Infectious Conjunctivitis Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Conjunctivitis can be due to the invasion of viruses or bacteria, or results as a form of allergic reaction to foreign bodies that come in contact with the conjunctiva. The determination of whether it is viral, bacterial, or allergic in origin, however, can be done even only by taking the history and examining for clinical presentations of the patient s affected eye. On the other hand, if the cause would seem to present a bacterial origin, laboratory testing can be done to identify what specific type of infectious bacteria cause the inflammation of the conjunctiva. Considering the signs and symptoms presented by John, it is obvious that his was a type of bacterial conjunctivitis; and among the listed microorganisms, it is more likely to be caused by the bacteria Haemophilus Influenza than by adenovirus. Legionella pneumophila and plasmodium ovale are very least likely to be considered to have caused John s eye condition as they result to different diseases. Both h. influenza and ade novirus can cause inflammation of the conjunctiva but the redness, tenderness, and mucopurulent discharge support the bacterial origin as viral conjunctivitis tend to produce a watery and mucoid discharge. We will write a custom essay sample on The Most Common Causes of Infectious Conjunctivitis or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page 361). Specifically, Chloramphenicol, a broad spectrum antibiotic, along with fucithalmic, are the drug of choice for bacterial conjunctivitis as it can be effective against nearly all cases of bacterial conjunctivitis. Hence, even without first identifying the exact microorganism through a swab test, the anti-bacterial effect of chloramphenicol is held to be beneficial in the different cases and causes of conjunctivitis.