Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The disease induces a roughening of this interior surface of the eyelids. This roughening can cause pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea of your eyes, along with ultimate blindness. Untreated, repeated trachoma infections could lead to a kind of permanent blindness once the eyelids turn inward.

The bacteria which cause the disease could be spread by both indirect and direct contact with the affected person's nose or eyes. Indirect contact includes through clothes or pops which have come in contact with the affected person's nose or eyes. Children spread the illness more frequently than adults. Bad sanitation, crowded living conditions, and insufficient clean toilets and water also increase spread.

Efforts to protect against the disease include enhancing access to clean water and therapy together with antibiotics to lower the amount of individuals infected with the bacterium. This might consist of treating, all at the same time, entire groups of individuals in whom the disorder is regarded as common. Washing, alone, is not sufficient to avoid disease but might be helpful together with different steps. Azithromycin is favored since it may be utilized as a single oral dose. Once scarring of the an*s has happened, surgery might be required to fix the position of the eyelashes and protect against blindness.

Trachoma (truh-KOH-muh) is a bacterial infection that affects your eyes. It's contagious, spreading through contact with the eyes, eyelids, and nose or throat secretions of infected people. It can also be passed on by handling infected items, such as handkerchiefs.

At first, trachoma may cause mild itching and irritation of your eyes and eyelids. Then you may notice swollen eyelids and pus draining from the eyes. Untreated trachoma can lead to blindness.

Trachoma is the leading preventable cause of blindness worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 6 million people have been blinded by trachoma. Most blinding trachoma occurs in poor areas of Africa. Among children under 5, prevalence of active trachoma infections can be 60 percent or more.

Early treatment may help prevent trachoma complications.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of trachoma usually affect both eyes and may include:

Mild itching and irritation of the eyes and eyelids
Discharge from the eyes containing mucus or pus
Eyelid swelling
Light sensitivity (photophobia)
Eye pain
Young children are particularly susceptible to infection. But the disease progresses slowly, and the more painful symptoms may not emerge until adulthood.

Cause

Trachoma is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, serotypes (serovars) A, B, and C. It's spread by direct contact with eye, nose, and throat secretions from affected people, or contact with fomites (inanimate items that take infectious agents), like towels or washcloths, who've experienced similar contact with these secretions. Flies may also be a path of mechanical transmission. Untreated, repeated trachoma infections cause entropion--, the inward rotation of the uterus, which might lead to blindness because of damage to the embryo. Kids are the most vulnerable to disease because of their propensity to easily become dirty, but the blinding results or even more acute symptoms are usually not felt till maturity.

Blinding endemic trachoma happens in regions with bad personal and household hygiene. Many variables are indirectly connected to the existence of trachoma such as insufficient water, lack of latrines or toilets, poverty generally, flies, near proximity to cows, crowding, etc. On the other hand, the final common pathway appears to be the existence of filthy faces in kids that eases the regular exchange of contaminated ocular discharge from 1 kid's face to the next. Most transmission of trachoma happens inside the family.


Source: https://aderonkebamidele.com/trachoma-causes-symptoms-prevention/