Indore (Madhya Pradesh): With the sudden rise in cases of conjunctivitis and other eye infections in the city, the sale of eye drops and antibiotics used in the treatment of contagious diseases has also increased.
According to one of the major dealers of eye drops of Indore division, there is a rise in the demand for eye drops and antibiotic medicines by at least 40 per cent in last 10 days. “As the cases of conjunctivitis have increased in last 10 days, the demand for eye drops and antibiotics has also increased.
Over 40 per cent demand of generic eye drops have increased in last 10 days while the rise in demand of branded eye drops used for treating eye flu has increased by 15-20 per cent,” Manish Kalra, owner of Kumar Medicals said.
Explaining the reasons for increase in demand for generic eye drops, Kalra said retail chemists give generic eye drops to people who ask for treatment advice\medicines from them as the profit margin in generic medicines is more.
However, the experts of School of Excellence For Eye cautioned people about taking over-the-counter medicines and said that it may prove harmful to them.
“Amid increasing cases of eye infections in city, it has been seen that people are taking over-the-counter medicines which are often leading to more complication instead of providing any relief,” ophthalmologist Dr Tina Agrawal said.
She said that the prevalent form of conjunctivitis is a viral one and taking medicines over the counter may damage the cornea as the chemist generally gives steroids to the patients. “Antibiotic eye drops take time to work, but they do not harm the eye.
Steroid eye drops can cause severe cornea damage if used without doctor’s advice. There is also a risk of developing antibiotic resistance later if antibiotic drops are used unnecessarily,” Dr Agrawal added.
