Abstract
Acute conjunctivitis is a common diagnosis in the general population, and is especially prevalent among military personnel. Conjunctivitis patients are often contagious, and outbreaks of this infectious condition can cause significant morbidity and may jeopardize military readiness. Early recognition and effective management can prevent additional cases in military units. In this article we review the clinical guidelines and public health policy of the Israel Defense Forces for the management of this important medical condition.
Highlights
Acute conjunctivitis is a common diagnosis among military personnel, which may lead to loss of training time due to medical unfitness, and in some cases may require patient isolation to prevent the spread of disease among soldiers [1]
In this article we provide a brief overview of this condition and review the clinical guidelines and public health policy in place in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for its management
Most cases of infectious conjunctivitis are of a viral etiology and are highly contagious, increasing the risk of rapid spread and high infection rates in the military setting
Summary
Acute conjunctivitis is a common diagnosis among military personnel, which may lead to loss of training time due to medical unfitness, and in some cases may require patient isolation to prevent the spread of disease among soldiers [1]. Signs of self-inflicted conjunctivitis include excessive subjective complaints in relation to objective clinical findings; repetitive and multiple medical appointments with various physical complaints; concomitant remains of both fresh and dry discharge on the eyelids which might be left intentionally; severity of discharge and edema that exceed conjunctival hyperemia; and involvement of the lower conjunctiva without corneal involvement. These signs alone are not sufficient for a diagnosis of self-inflicted conjunctivitis and a thorough investigation is warranted [10,11]. Phlyctenules, membranes and pseudomembranes may complicate adenoviral conjunctivitis and cause significant patient discomfort [2,5]
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