Trachoma

Trachoma spreads easily from person to person. Caused by a bacterium called chlamydia trachomatis, the disease is passed from child to child and child to mother within a family. Mothers of young children are particularly susceptible. In fact, three out of every four people blinded by trachoma are women. When people get trachoma, they do not go blind immediately. The disease begins in childhood and progresses over the years as repeated infections cause irritation and scarring on the inside of the eyelid. Eventually the eyelashes turn in, rubbing on the cornea at the front of the eye. The scarring on the cornea leads to severe vision loss and blindness, usually when people are 40 to 50 years old. Tweezers, often used to remove painful in turned eyelashes, are so important that they are sometimes worn around the neck. Removing eyelashes, however, is at best only a temporary measure, because eyelashes grow back. Even after the scarring begins, visual damage and pain from trachoma can be interrupted with a simple surgical procedure that reverses the in turned eyelashes.

The best time to attack trachoma, however, is in childhood, before serious damage has begun and one of the best ways to attack it is through a surprisingly simple intervention: increased face washing among children at risk of disease.

Transmission: Is primary from person-to-person by ocular and respiratory secretions. Secondary: insect vectors such as house flies.

Diagnosis and treatment: Systemic therapy with oral antibiotics can prevent long-term complications if used early in the infection. Active antibiotics include erythromycin and its derivatives, or doxycycline. In certain cases, eyelid surgery for lid deformities may be needed to prevent chronic scarring which can lead to blindness if not corrected. Early treatment before the development of scarring and lid deformities has an excellent prognosis.

Prevent trachoma:

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