Pink Eye

Pink eye, which is also known as conjunctivitis, is the inflammation of your conjunctiva, which is the very thin membrane-like mucous membrane that produces fluids that coat and lubricate the surface of your eye. When the conjunctiva becomes irritated or inflamed, the conjunctiva and its associated blood vessels become more prominent and the eye then turns red and gets sticky and can produce a yucky coating.

There are many causes of conjunctivitis. You can get it from a fungus, a parasite, a virus, or bacteria. All of these things are the most typical causes of pink eye. But there are also a number of other possible causes for pinkeye. Pinkeye can be caused by your exposure to irritants in the air that cause an allergy of your mucous membrane. Regardless, it’s difficult to determine exactly what might have caused your pinkeye. It could be any of a number of things.

Pinkeye

Pinkeye causes your eye to become very irritated, red, and sticky. The eye might begin to grow painful and very sensitive to light even. There might be tearing and a sticky discharge that can cause your eyelids to stick together when you wake up in the morning. You can quickly be treated for pink eye. You must visit your doctor, and he can swab the pinkeye and run tests to determine what caused it. But the treatment for pink eye is the same, regardless what the cause was the triggered the pink eye.

Your doctor likely will start with an antibiotic treatment for your pink eye. If this doesn’t help after a couple days, your doctor likely will then prescribe a steroid and an antibiotic drug that can be started with careful monitoring. If this doesn’t work, then your doctor will want to look more closely at what caused your pink eye to determine what the next course of action should be.

Pink Eye Symptoms

If your pink eye is cause by a virus, antibiotic treatment is always ineffective and the disease must run its course. If you have virus pink eye, you’ll see a watery discharge and it lasts for a couple weeks. Viral conjunctivitis is highly contagious and spreads with ease to anyone who comes within close range.

If your pink eye is caused by an allergy, it’s fairly easy to treat. You simply might have hay fever that is making your eyes red and itchy. You can be prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug and you might be asked to use an ice compress on your eye for a few days til it goes away.