European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Jane e. Brody the new York times y son complained recently that his Eye was bothering him. The White of the Eye was red and Felt Gritty and the Eye kept tearing and releasing a Pale yellow discharge. Two Days later i awoke to the same symptoms. In 12 hours my Eye had swollen nearly shut and was constantly tilling with the opaque discharge. The doctor s diagnosis was bacterial conjunctivitis one of the Many forms of what is called  conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the transparent tissue or conjunctiva that covers the White of the Eye and lines the inside of the eyelids. Ophthalmologists and paediatricians see Many cases of pinkeye this time of the year most of them the result of seasonal allergies. Although not contagious allergic conjunctivitis can strike several members of a household if they have the same allergies. Allergic conjunctivitis is most common in Spring and late summer into Early fall but it can occur any time if the allergy is to pets cosmetics perfume holds or dust. For unknown reasons viral conjunctivitis which is highly contagious was exceedingly common this Spring my 2-year-old Niece and her baby a brother got it and then their father and a Babysitter. Outbreaks of viral conjunctivitis Are common among children in play groups Day care and school. They also commonly strike campers and users of Public swimming pools. While most cases of conjunctivitis Clear up on their own some can become severe. Without aggressive treatment some severe infections can permanently impair vision by damaging the Cornea the Cryst Mike tissue that covers the coloured portion of the Eye. Thus it is important to know when to seek medical attention for pinkeye. Simply masking symptoms with Over the counter Eye drops that take away redness does nothing to control an infection. Most of the time when eyes get red where they should be White can the cause be traced to an infection. In addition to allergies among the Many non infectious causes of redness Are exposure to irritating chemicals such As soap perfume or chlorine fumes like cigarette smoke and smog excessively dry air As on an air plane or. When walking into the wind sunburn As might happen a when sailing skiing or sunbathing without wearing a protective lenses Over consumption of alcohol fatigue or sleeplessness eyestrain from overuse of the eyes when lighting is poor and a foreign object in the Eye. The Best cure for such redness is to allow the tears to moisten and Quot disinfect Quot the Eye with Lysozyme the natural Antiseptic they  often awaken with bloodshot eyes that feel Gritty because tearing has stopped during sleep. When eyes Are healthy the redness naturally clears on its own within half an hour. More frightening in appearance but no More serious is the Bright redness caused by a tiny Haemorrhage just under the conjunctiva. While such Haemorrhages can happen to anyone they Are More common in people who Are overweight or have High blood pressure diabetes anaemia or atherosclerosis. They can also be caused by a blow to the Eye or heavy lifting or straining during violent coughing retching sneezing or straining to move the bowels. The Haemorrhages Range in size from a Pinhead to covering the entire White of the Eye they cause no pain or discomfort or blurring of vision. In fact you cannot Tell one has occurred unless someone tells you or you look in a Mirror. Such Haemorrhages result from a break in a tiny blood vessel on the surface of the eyeball but since the blood lies under the conjunctiva it cannot be washed away. Instead the body gradually absorbs it. Viruses bacteria fungi and other organisms can infect the conjunctiva resulting sometimes in blindness. Fortunately most cases even those that Are highly contagious do not threaten vision or cause anything More serious than temporary discomfort. But Only a doctor not a pharmacist or optometrist can determine what is causing a particular Case and How vigorously it should be treated. If you consult Quot an ophthalmologist the doctor should examine your Eye through a Slit lamp which is like looking at the Eye through a Microscope to see whether the Cornea is . Human Eye ligaments a Iris Lens a Pupil a Cornea ciliary muscle conjunctiva a or sclera a Choroid a Retina a area of sharpest vision Blind spot optic nerve Central canal Chicago Tribune graphic source world Book encyclopedia americana readers action Lin questions on an to programming of a iwo it 10 ask some questions about the programming on an to. Who makes the decision to show can headline news at 6  weekdays and then repeat the same newscast at 10  ? can headline news comes on every half hour  the audience receive a More updated version at 10p.m.? a Good example of the above was the sunday Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf returned to the states. The same newscast Al noon was repeated at 6 . And it was stupid to Hoar again that Florida was planning a big Welcome Tor Gen Schwarzkopf when the lbs sunday morning program with Charles Kuralt aired around 3 p in showed the Welcome ceremony. Who decided to drop the Quot today show Quot for Quot Good morning America Quot were the viewing people Given a. Choice -1 Willard Scott was a big fan with the people Over Here Why Silow the Aba basketball game Al All when they knew the game was going to Cut off in the fourth Quarter anyway bulls is pistons ? the whole world knew the game was tape delayed some folks saw the game earlier on then a dishes Quot. Capt. Ronald Harrell Kaiserslautern Germany a Ann Mulligan news director american Force network Europe replies our policy regarding Quot headline news Quot is to always broadcast the most recent newscast available to us your letter leads us to believe that you assume an has direct Access to can Quot headline news Quot around the clock. We do not an has Only a single Channel satellite service which in turn is programmed by the arts broadcast Center in los Angeles. / an broadcasts a headline news Quot live weekdays at 6 . During weekdays the next available Quot headline news Quot occurs at 10 ., which we routinely broadcast at 10 30 , viewers who regularly watch an know that it is very rare for these two newscasts to be identical unless of course can repeats itself in these time periods or if technical reasons should prevent an from receiving the 10 . Broadcast. The situation is somewhat different on sundays. Quot headline news Quot is available to us at 12 . And at 2 30 . It is the 2 30 . Newscast which is the most recent one available for our use at 6 . We make no attempt to Monitor what stories were reported by Charles Kuralt or can usually these two very different programs do not report on the same time sensitive issues that 90 minutes of difference in broadcast time has any significant Impact. Since 1984 an was fortunate to present the Abc Quot today Quot program because in addition to being an excellent program it was also the nations no. 1-rated morning news talk show. During the past year however the ratings for Quot today Quot eroded while those for Quot Good morning America Quot eventually established the Abc a program As America s favorite a recent Gallup poll reported viewers prefer Quot Goa Quot Over Quot today Quot by a margin of three to one. Concurrently with this trend arts received an increase in requests for Quot Good morning America Quot and began negotiations to obtain broadcast rights for the program. On april 1, arts began live broadcasts of the Abc East coast version of Quot Good morning american at 1 . European time replacing the Abc Quot today Quot program weekdays in that time period. An did not know in Advance that the bulls pistons Aba game on april 21 would be lost due to satellite failure on that Date the game was being tape delayed by Only 45 minutes. Our signal was Cut off while the game was in Progress and after the broadcast had begun. The arts satellite signal was interrupted due to damage caused by a wind storm at the Andover Maine relay station on the East coast of the United states which passes television traffic to the Atlantic satellite which an  write of readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. A you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211. All tetters must be signed and preference Wilt be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a the stars and stripes tuesday july 23. 1991