Mr. Yan is 54 years old and is an authentic Ningbo native. Lately, his left eye has been uncomfortable, red, tearful, and occasionally tingling, as if he had been poked by a needle.
Data chart Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Jianli
Originally wanted to boil his own eye drops to see, but the result was really unbearable, Mr. Yan went to the local Mingzhou Hospital of Zhejiang University.
Zhou Guping, chief physician of the Department of Ophthalmology, said: "When I checked with a slit lamp during the outpatient clinic, there were small bugs swimming, and when I told him, the patients themselves were shocked. ”
Zhou Guping opened Mr. Yan's eyelids with a eyelid hook, and through careful rummaging, in about 3 minutes, he used a small medical clip to clip out 3 small white and thin bugs and eggs.
Zhou Guping said: "These small bugs are very flexible, they can swim around when they touch them, ranging from about 1 to 2 centimeters per day, and they are as thick as sewing threads." But only in the patient's left eye, there is no infection in the right eye. ”
After laboratory testing in the hospital, it was learned that the bug is called conjunctival sucking nematode.
This is a parasite that parasitizes in the conjunctiva of dogs or cats, and adult worms mainly parasitize the conjunctival sac and tear ducts of dogs, cats and other animals, and occasionally parasitize the eyes of humans, rabbits and other animals. This disease is most prevalent in Asia, so it is also called Oriental Eyeworm Disease.
Zhou Guping Introduction:
Adults parasitize in the conjunctival sac of the human eye, which is more common on the lateral canthan side of the conjunctival sac, and can also be seen in the anterior chamber, lacrimal tubules, lacrimal glands, eyelids, subconjunctival, etc. Multiple violations of one eye, and in a few cases, binocular infections may be present.
The number of parasitic insects is 1 to several, up to more than 20.
Due to the friction of the sharp ring fold on the surface of the insect body, the mechanical damage of the adsorption of the head port sac, as well as the stimulation of the insect body secretions, excrement and secondary bacterial infection, it can cause inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye and the formation of granulomas.
Mild cases have no obvious symptoms, or have a foreign body sensation, itching sensation, tingling, lacrimation, photophobia, increased secretions, pain, etc., and generally have no visual impairment. Infants and young children do not dare to open their eyes, and there is a movement of grasping the eyes with their hands. Parents may find small white insects crawling on the child's eyeballs. In patients with severe infection, conjunctival hyperemia may occur, forming small ulcer surfaces, corneal opacification, eyelid valgus, etc.
If parasitic in the anterior chamber, there may be a sense of movement of filamentous shadows, ciliary body congestion, aqueous humor opacity, increased intraocular pressure, pupillary dilation, and decreased vision. If the lacrimal tubules are damaged, tear spots may be valgus.
Diagnosis is mainly with forceps or cotton swabs to remove the worm body from the eye, placed in a flat dish containing normal saline, the worm body peristalsis can be seen, and the diagnosis can be confirmed by examining the characteristics of the worm body with a microscope.
"When I heard that there were bugs swimming in my eyes, everyone thought it was terrible, and they thought that such a small bug was not easy to find. In fact, this problem is still very easy to diagnose, and as long as the timely treatment generally does not have any side effects, eye redness, stinging these clinical symptoms can disappear after removing the worm, the prognosis is very good," Zhou Guping said, "but if the worm stays in the eye for too long, repeated friction leads to cornea damage, or may leave clouds and mildly affect vision." Therefore, once the eye discomfort occurs, it is still necessary to go to the ophthalmology department of the regular hospital as soon as possible. ”
In fact, this is not the first time that Zhou Guping has discovered this kind of disease, three years ago he helped an infected female patient to clip 3 live worms out of his eyes.
Why do parasites appear in the eyes?
Through exchanges with Mr. Yan, Zhou Guping speculated that the source of infection may be Mr. Yan's dogs in the countryside.
Zhou Guping suggested that people who own pets must pay attention to personal hygiene, regularly check the body, bathe, deworm the pet, and wash their hands in time after holding the pet. At the same time, after having children or the elderly in close contact with pets, we should pay attention to the cleanliness and hygiene of the eyes, and if there is any discomfort in the eyes, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible to find out the cause.
Source: Voice of Zhejiang, Encyclopedia