Bilaspur: Heavy rains and floods have led to a rise in cases of conjunctivitis, also known as eye flu across the country. Nearly, 20,000 cases of eye flu have been reported in Chhattisgarh till now.
The infection has spread in both the urban and rural areas. Almost every fourth person is falling prey to conjunctivitis. Along with generating awareness about eye flu prevention, the state health department is setting up eye examination camps.
Now, the sudden surge in eye flu cases has hiked the sale of sunglasses. Compared to 100 to 150 sunglasses that are usually sold per day during summer, in July alone, around 250 to 300 sunglasses were sold in a day. In 2021, there was a sale of Rs 3.56 crore while in 2022, the figure was 1.35 crore. But, this year, in July alone, a sale of Rs 1.15 crore was recorded which doubled to Rs 3.56 crore in July.
Along with sunglasses, there has been a subsequent increase in the demand for anti-allergic drugs and eye-drops. Medicine shops in Korba complained they were running out of stocks.
In Chhattisgarh, conjunctivitis has affected a total of 19,873 people with highest number of 3746 patients being reported from Durg followed by Raipur with 3668 patients and Bilaspur with 3000. The lowest number of cases has been reported from Surajpur that has only 19 patients.
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Doctors and health experts said that a spike in conjunctivitis cases usually occurs during monsoons and children are more vulnerable than adults. Some common symptoms of eye flu are pain, redness, blurry vision, swearing and continuous watering and discharge from the eyes. It is advisable to consult a doctor if the pain continues for more than a week, a health expert said.
