What is it?

An irritation of the membrane which surrounds the eyes, causing swelling, itching, matting of the eyelids and discharge

Why does it happen?

Most cases are caused by viral infection and will clear on their own in several days. Pink Eye can also be caused by allergies, an irritant or bacteria

How is it treated?

Cool, wet wash clothes for 15 minutes when desired can ease the symptoms of itching and discharge

Avoid rubbing your eyes

Use of an eye irrigating solution may be soothing

Stop wearing contacts while your eyes are irritated. Cleanse or discard contacts before next use

Throw away old eye make up as it may be now contaminated

Keep others from getting pink eye

These simple suggestions listed below will help:

• Avoid touching your face and eyes
• Wash your hands frequently and do not reuse towels or handkerchiefs
• Avoid shaking hands with others
• Do not wear contact lenses or cover the eye
• Do not wear eye makeup or share it with others
• Clean any surfaces you have touched

Are medications helpful?

Antibiotic eye drops are often prescribed for bacterial and viral conjunctivitis. Although the antibiotics don’t fight the viral infection, it does prevent a bacterial infection from starting

Over the counter antihistamine eye drops may help with allergic conjunctivitis. Ask a pharmacist for assistance. Diphenhydramine (benadryl) or loratidine (claritin) tablets may also help with allergy symptoms. If these measures don’t work, see a clinician to consider prescription allergy medications.

Danger signs

The following are not symptoms of simple conjunctivitis,

Seek medical attention if any of these occur:

Difficulty seeing

Severe eye pain

Fever

Remarkable sensitivity to light

DIRECTIONS FOR USING EYE DROPS OR OINTMENT

1. Wash your hands before touching your eyes or your medications.
2. Gently, pull your lower lid down with your finger.
3. Look up toward the ceiling.
4. To instill drops: Drop medicine inside center of your lower lid. Do not drop it on your eyeball. Close your eyes gently without squeezing the lids shut. Blink to distribute medication over the eye. To instill ointment: Starting in the corner of your eye closest to the nose, squeeze a thin ribbon of ointment along the inside of the lower lid. Close eyes gently without squeezing the lids shut. Roll eyes to distribute the medication over them.
5. Remove excess solution or ointment outside your eye with a clean tissue, using a separate tissue for each eye.
6. Wash hands after you have finished your medication, to avoid transmitting the infection to others.
7. If you are using an eye ointment you may experience blurred vision for approximately 20 minutes after application. This is expected and will resolve on it own.

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