Where Can I Get More Help or Ask Questions? For more information, contact your family or eye doctor, 811, BC HealthLink website, or the Vancouver Coastal Health Infection Pink Eye Prevention and Control website (ipac.vch.ca). Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) BC HealthLink website: healthlinkbc.ca/

For more copies, go online at vch.eduhealth.ca or email [email protected] and quote Catalogue No. FH.680.P655 © Vancouver Coastal Health, July 2021

The information in this document is intended solely for the person to whom it was given by the health care team. vch.ca What is Epidemic Can I Pass it to  Clean your hands Keratoconjunctivitis1 ? Someone Else? well with alcohol- based hand Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis Yes you can. EKC is very contagious. sanitizer or soap (EKC), is a serious viral infection Contact with pus or discharge from and warm water of the eyes. It can cause painful an infected eye, or with something frequently and inflammation (redness) of the eye that has touched an infected eye immediately after: and may cause blurred vision. The (e.g., pillowcase, sunglasses) can  Touching your eyes. virus is easily passed on to another easily spread this infection to your  Wiping your tears. person and can quickly become friends and family. widespread (epidemic).  Blowing your nose. How Can I Stop the Spread?  Frequently clean hard surfaces Symptoms that the person with EKC has If you or someone you know has touched with a household Symptoms include: redness, EKC... disinfectant. swelling, sensitivity to light, itching, the sensation of something in the DO DO NOT eye, or gritty feeling, excessive  See a doctor to assess severity  Touch or rub your eyes. This can tearing, and crusting of the eyelids of the infection, obtain a swab of worsen the condition or spread it or eyelashes. It can be associated your eye(s) to determine if it is a to the other eye. with signs of an upper respiratory bacterial or viral infection, and to  Share personal care items such as... infection – stuffy and/or runny nose, determine the treatment plan for it.  Eye drops, contact-lens solutions, sneezing, sore throat, coughing, and  eye make-up or containers. difficulty swallowing. Eye pain and Let your doctor’s office know that decreased or blurry vision can occur you have EKC or that you have  Towels or bedding. been in contact with someone in severe cases.  Eyeglasses (including sunglasses). who has EKC.  Use the same eye products for When did I get it?  Tell your employer that you have your infected and non-infected How long does it last? EKC or that you have been in eye. contact with someone who has  You can develop symptoms within EKC. Go to public swimming pools or three to fourteen days of exposure hot tubs.  Return to work when doctor to EKC. Improvement of your eye  Go to day-care centres. advises you it is okay to. infection may take anywhere from  Use contact lenses or eye 7-21 days.  Discard soft contact lenses and make-up until doctor says it is makeup used within 7 days of okay. 1 Kerato (cornea), conjunctiva (mucous membrane symptom onset. covering the eye), - itis (inflammation)