Over recent months, Bhopal has been witnessing a sharp increase in cases of conjunctivitis often called “red-eye” or “eye-flu.” Eye hospitals and general outpatient departments (OPDs) have reported many more people coming in with symptoms like redness, watering, itchiness, swelling, and discharge from eyes. Many are young, including school children; others are adults affected because of exposure to dust, dirt, and weather changes. The rise has been substantial enough that schools have asked parents to keep children at home if they show symptoms.
Doctors have noted that infection cases have increased by about 50% in OPDs compared to earlier periods. At the same time, during post-rainfall or dry dusty breaks (when rain is interrupted and construction / dust / sunlight intensifies), the eye-irritation and conjunctivitis cases have increased by around 25%.
In some specific case clusters, what started as ordinary conjunctivitis has worsened. There are reports of people using over-the-counter steroids (creams or drops) without proper supervision, which has led to complications like microbial keratitis (a serious infection of the cornea) in some patients.
Causes & Contributing Factors:
From what doctors and local health institutions report, several conditions are converging that favour the spread of conjunctivitis in Bhopal:
- Weather & Climatic Conditions: Hot weather, increased humidity, sudden changes between dry/dusty and wet conditions, and strong sunlight seem to aggravate or trigger eye surface irritation. These conditions undermine the eye’s natural defences.
- Dust, Pollution, and Construction: Ongoing construction work in many parts of the city, vehicular traffic stirring up dust, and windy dusty breaks after rains have worsened exposure. When eyes are repeatedly exposed to dust or environmental irritants, there’s greater risk of inflammation or infection.
- Overuse / Misuse of Medications: Some people are self-medicating with steroid-antibiotic combinations (without a doctor’s guidance), which can suppress the body’s normal immune response in the eye and allow more severe infection (keratitis). This is dangerous because it can damage the cornea and sometimes threaten vision.
- Close Contact & Poor Hygiene: Schools, crowded public places, shared towels / handkerchiefs / bedding, people touching eyes with unwashed hands—all of these enable spread. Conjunctivitis is highly contagious. Experts warn that simple hygiene lapses spread the illness fast.
- Lack of Awareness / Delay in Seeking Care: Many people may dismiss early symptoms (watering, mild irritations) or try home remedies, delaying proper examination. By the time they reach doctors, infection may be more intense. Also, people using steroid drops without seeing eye specialists worsen the problem.
Recent Examples & Real Cases:
- In July 2023, Bhopal hospitals reported that conjunctivitis (viral type) cases had risen sharply. OPDs were seeing a large number of patients with “viral red-eye,” showing redness, dryness, and gritty sensation. Doctors warned people not to self-medicate, especially not to use steroids casually.
- Around the same period, schools issued notices asking parents to keep children at home if they showed symptoms like itchiness, redness, watering of the eyes. This was because many children were coming to school and spreading infection.
- A major hospital in Bhopal, saw its outpatient numbers for eye problems double from what was seen earlier in the season. Cases involving conjunctivitis and allergies increased by about 25%.
- In Sehore district (near Bhopal), a hospital once received 110 conjunctivitis cases in a single day. Since July 19 of that reporting period, more than 700 cases were registered in about ten days.
Risks & Potential Complications:
While many cases of conjunctivitis are mild and resolve in a few days with rest and simple hygiene, there are risks if not handled properly:
- Corneal involvement or keratitis: when the infection spreads to the cornea, it can risk vision. Some case reports in India (including Bhopal area) show patients developing microbial keratitis following misuse of steroid-antibiotic drops.
- Extended duration / stronger symptoms: redness, swelling, pain, and photosensitivity (sensitivity to light) in some cases are more intense.
- Contagion to family, friends, classmates: because conjunctivitis—especially viral or microbial—is highly contagious, it spreads fast in close quarters.
- Disruption of daily life: children missing school, adults missing work, discomfort and expense of treatment.
What Health Authorities & Hospitals Are Advising?
Doctors and public health experts in Bhopal have issued several practical guidelines:
- Do not self-medicate, especially avoid using steroid eye drops / ointments without prescription. They may seem to help early, but can worsen or prolong infection.
- Maintain strict eye hygiene: wash hands often, do not touch or rub eyes, avoid sharing towels, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, clothes with anyone who has symptoms.
- Use protective measures: sunglasses to block dust and UV rays, cover face in dusty or windy conditions, use goggles if riding two-wheelers.
- Stay away from crowded, public places if symptoms begin; children especially should stay home from school if showing signs of red-eye.
- Seek medical attention early: if eye redness persists more than few days, or if pain increases, or vision blurs, or there is significant discharge, consult an ophthalmologist rather than waiting.
Possible Long-Term Measures & What Needs to Be Done:
To reduce the frequency and severity of such outbreaks in future, Bhopal and similar cities might consider:
- Public awareness campaigns in local media (newspapers, radio, local TV, social media) about what red-eye is, how it’s spread, what to do / what not to do.
- School health programs that monitor eye symptoms, have protocols to keep infected children at home, ensure hygiene in schools.
- Regulation of over-the-counter medications including steroids: enforcing rules so that strong eye medication is not sold without prescription.
- Better environmental hygiene: controlling dust (through cleaning roads, reducing pollution, ensuring proper water drainage to reduce mould and bacteria growth), controlling construction dust, ensuring clean air in vulnerable seasons.
- Health facility readiness: hospitals and clinics should be ready for spikes—stock eye medications, have staff training, triage systems so that mild and severe cases are separated.
Why This Outbreak Matters?
The red-eye outbreak in Bhopal is not trivial. It matters because:
- It affects quality of life: pain, discomfort, loss of work or school days.
- It risks more serious eye damage in some cases if left unchecked.
- It indicates environmental and public hygiene and healthcare access challenges: dust, pollution, access to safe medicines, and public health awareness.
- It shows how seasonal and climatic shifts (humidity, rain breaks, heat, UV) are directly impacting health in urban settings.
The conjunctivitis (red-eye) outbreak in Bhopal has been significant and growing. Real cases tell a story of people suffering eye irritation, delayed treatment, misuse of medications, and spread through schools and families. But the good news is that many of the causes are understood, and there are practical steps individuals, schools, health authorities can take right away.
If you live in Bhopal or surroundings, taking simple precautions—keeping eyes clean, avoiding dust, not rubbing eyes, not using steroids without doctor’s advice—can go a long way. With awareness, early care, and community action, such outbreaks can be controlled, and the discomfort and risk minimized.