How do you get trachoma?

Asking how to get trachoma is like asking how to win the lottery- nobody wants it, and we certainly don’t have the manual. However, you might be one of those curious cats who believes knowledge is power, so let’s dive right in.

First things first- what on Earth is trachoma?

Trachoma sounds like a fancy dessert that requires white gloves and a lot of money. But in reality, it’s an infectious disease caused by bacterium chlamydia trachomatis (oops there went our appetites). Trchoma affects over 200 million people globally and can lead to blindness if left untreated.

The Friendly Fly: Your Grabby-I Eyed Bestie

Now onto the big question -how does this ominous-sounding trach-a-ma sneak up on us? It turns out that tiny houseflies are our superheroes villains in disguise. These little guys love nothing more than getting all up in your face (seriously), then transferring bacteria from infected eyes directly into uninfected ones within seconds (eww)

Here are some common ways people contract The Eye Snatcher:

  1. Lack of proper sanitation
  2. Poor living conditions
  3. Sharing items with someone who already has it
  4. Skin-to-skin contact with infected person
    5.WHAT???!! That’s IT?!!

Yes! Those pesky houseflies really pack a punch when they need to make themselves known.

All In A Day’s Work For Our Eyes

Now that we know what causes Trchoma (cough cough flies!), let’s talk about some factors which may increase your risk:

1.Living or Traveling where large number of infections exist
2.Poor nutrition/elevated poverty rate within community areas.
3.Compromised immune system due to medical conditions or treatments.
4. Failure to follow proper hygiene practices, like not washing your hands before touching eyes.

So basically, being alive and having eyes is the biggest risk factor of all.

The Eye Of The Tiger: Symptoms You Cannot Miss

Now that we know how people get Trachoma (thanks flies) let’s talk about what happens when you have it:

1.Inflamed eyelids
2.Intensive itching
3.Watery discharge from eye
4.Progressive loss of vision
5.Patchy areas on cornea.

But don’t worry too much- doctors can easily cure trachoma with a round of antibiotics (pheww)

Diagnosis By Doctor Not Psychic Fly

If you are experiencing these symptoms (minus the fly), check in with doctor ASAP so they can determine if it’s trachoma or not. Usually, this involves examining your eyes wth a flashlight and magnifying lens (what fun!) Thankfully there are some diagnostic methods to confidently diagnose Trchoma without relying solely on our grabby friends; PCR-based testing methods for example (science works wonders)!

In Conclusion

To sum up – getting trachoma is no picnic (’cause houseflies always show up uninvited). But by practicing good hygiene practices, maintaining clean living conditions,and most importantly avoiding contact with infected people/areas as well flies – you have increased chance eliminating exposure(Is it just us or does knowledge make things only scarier?).

Bottom line: Keep your distance from pesky robbers mosquitoes(we mean houseflies!) and take care(or watch out) for yourself because , at end of the day – no one else will do it better ten times faster than housefly! These are true swifties afterall 😉

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