Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is an irritation or inflammation of the conjunctiva, which covers the white part of the eyeball. It can be caused by allergies or a bacterial or viral infection. Conjunctivitis can be extremely contagious, and is spread by contact with eye secretions from someone who is infected.
Pink eye is very common, more than 3 million US cases per year. Treatment consists of self care : its important to stop wearing contact lenses while affected by conjunctivitis. It often resolves on its own, but treatment can spread the recovery process. Bacterial conjunctivitis can be treated with antibiotic eye drops.
As pharmacists we are often asked by patients to diagnose their "pink eye', and give recommendations. So, for this blog post, I am collaborating with Dr. Bahareh Golbahar, O.D., to have her explain to us the difference between viral and bacterial pink eye.
We often have patients come in complaining of a "pink eye." This is actually not a diagnosis eye care professionals use. A pink or red eye can be caused by a multitude of reasons. Any time your eye does not feel or look good, the best advice is to see your eye care professional so they can figure out the cause. However, I will review here two of the more common reasons for an irritated "pink eye" and their differences.
Viral: a patient with a viral infection of the eyes usually starts with a symptom of mild pain in one eye which moves to the other eye within a few days. The patient will also have a lot of watering of the eyes and the eye will look irritated overall. The treatment for this is usually artificial tears and cold compresses until the body heals itself and gets rid of the virus. Currently, if someone comes in with what we call a viral conjunctivitis (a "pink eye" due to a virus), we highly recommend they get a test for COVID as this virus can show up in the eyes.
Bacterial: a patient with a bacterial infection will usually come in with a red, irritated eye. There might be mild swelling. There will usually be some kind of mucous discharge present as well. Treatment for this is normally antibiotic drops prescribed by your eye doctor.
It is sometimes difficult to differentiate the cause of an irritated eye just merely by looking at the patient. Eye care professionals will use what is called a slit lamp (a large microscope) to view the eye with detail and narrow the diagnosis down.
Stay well and stay healthy.
Dr. Naghmeh , Pharm.D. and Dr. Bahareh Golbahar, O.D.
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