SCRIPT NUMBER 133
CONJUNCTIVITIS / PINK EYE - 2
(ONE SPEAKER)
PROGRAM NAME: HEALTH NUGGETS
PROGRAM TITLE: CONJUNCTIVITIS / PINK EYE - 2
PROGRAM NUMBER: 133
SUBJECT: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF PINK EYE
KEY WORDS: CONJUNCTIVITIS, INFLAMMATION, CONTAGIOUS, VIRAL
INFECTION, BACTERIAL, ARTIFICIAL TEARS, IMMUNE
SYSTEM
DATE OF SCRIPT: OCTOBER 11, 2013
AUTHOR: RICHARD YUKL, MD, FACS
A listener recently told me of an experience she had as a child while she was in
her fifth year of school. Her teacher had noticed that a fellow student came to
school one day with the white portion of both eyes reddened. A watery discharge
from the left eye had caused crusting that prevented the girl from opening that
eye completely, and she complained that it felt itchy and gritty. The teacher,
worrying that the girl had developed an eye infection that could spread to other
students, poured medicine into an eye cup and instructed each student to come
to the front of the room to rinse their eyes with the solution. She, unfortunately,
used the same eye cup for all of the students, and two days later, every student
in class had eyes that were reddened.
Today, I want to talk about an eye condition called conjunctivitis, or pink eye.
Pink eye is the result of inflammation of the clear, white portion of the eye and
the inner surface of the eyelid. It occurs commonly, especially in children, and it
can affect either one eye or both. Pink eye is very often only a minor problem, but
some forms of the condition are highly contagious, easily spreading to others,
and it can at times become serious, causing temporary or even permanent vision
damage.
The condition is easy to identify because of the redness that develops on the
white portion of the eye. Inflammation causes small blood vessels on the eye’s
surface to become dilated, making the eye appear pink or red in color. The
inflammation also causes considerable watery discharge, and that discharge will
crust during the night as one sleeps. The Other symptoms include itching,
burning and a gritty feeling. The eyelid may swell, and one can experience
increased sensitivity to light.
Pink eye results from one of three causes - a bacterial infection, a viral infection,
or the result of an allergy. The bacterial and viral forms of the condition often
develop along with a throat or lung infection or with a common cold. They are
highly contagious, and because of that, someone who is physically near you can
spread their organisms to you through the air when they cough or sneeze.
Despite that possibility, the bacteria that infect you will most often spread to your
eye from your own skin or lungs, and infecting viruses will most commonly
spread from your own nose, throat or lungs.
Allergic pink eye is different than the bacterial or viral conjunctivitis. The
symptoms are the same as those caused by bacterial or viral infections. You
have intense itching, a watery discharge and inflammation, but the condition is
not contagious. No one spreads allergic pink eye to you. Instead, it is caused by
an allergy that you have to things such as tree pollen.
You might think that if your eye becomes pink and develops a watery discharge
you should immediately see a doctor to start taking antibiotics, but that is not the
case. Home treatments are the first step. Antibiotics can cause the bacteria to
become resistant, and mild bacterial pink eye is often self-limiting, resolving
without the need for antibiotic use. If a virus caused the inflammation, no
effective medicine has ever been developed to kill those viruses, so we must rely
on the immune system with which we were created to clear the infection. It was
designed to fight infections caused by foreign proteins such as viruses.
For those reasons, and because allergic pink eye is not contagious, treatment for
pink eye should start using home treatments. A doctor will prescribe antibiotics if
the symptoms are severe, or if mid symptoms are not improving with two to three
days of home treatment.
Home treatments start with warm, soothing compresses. Make a warm compress
by soaking a clean, lint-free cloth in hot water, wringing it out to be sure it is not
too hot, then applying it gently to your closed eyelid. Apply it ten minutes at a
time, three to four times a day. Be careful not to touch both eyes with the same
cloth. This will reduce the risk of spreading the inflammation from one eye to the
other. In the event that substantial swelling of the eyelid has developed, cold
rather than warm compresses can decrease the swelling. Artificial tears that you
can buy without a prescription can sooth your eyes, relieving the symptoms of
itching and grittiness, and they will flush out watery discharge.
If three days of home treatment for mild symptoms fails to clear them, or if your
symptoms are severe, it is time to see a doctor who can prescribe antibiotics. A
bacterial infection may require antibiotic treatment by then. The doctor can also
prescribe medicines to relieve other troubling symptoms.
How can you prevent spreading pink eye to others? Importantly, don’t cough or
sneeze while around others. If you, yourself, have developed pink eye, you can
spread a bacterial or viral infection for as long as your eyes continue to produce
a discharge, and if your doctor has begun treating your bacterial pink eye with
antibiotic eye drops, you risk infecting others for at least 24 hours after starting
the antibiotics. While your infection is still a danger for spread, don’t touch your
eyes with your hands, and wash your hands often. Don’t share your towels or
washcloths with anyone. Throw away your eye cosmetics such as mascara, and
don’t share your personal eye-care items with anyone. The teacher in our story
did more harm by having all of the students wash their eyes using the same eye
cup than if she had done nothing at all.
Health Nuggets is written by Dr. Richard Yukl, a medical doctor working in the
United States. The medical views expressed in this program are his and may
differ for your particular health needs. If you need medical advice, please consult
a medical professional in your area.