Pink Eye

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Conjunctivitis is the medical name for pink eye. It involves inflammation of the outer layer of the eye and inside of the eyelid. It can cause swelling, itching, burning, discharge, and redness. Causes include:

• Bacterial or viral infection
• Allergies
• Substances that cause irritation
• Contact lens products, eye drops, or eye ointments

Pink eye usually does not affect vision. Infectious pink eye can easily spread from one person to another. The infection will clear in most cases without medical care, but bacterial pink eye needs treatment with antibiotic eye drops or ointment.

NIH: National Eye Institute

Start Here

• Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Pink Eye (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
• Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Prevent Pink Eye Exposure and Avoid Spreading Pink Eye (American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Treatments and Therapies

• Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis): Diagnosis and Treatment (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Specifics

• Eye Allergies: Why Are My Eyes Itchy? (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• What Are the 3 Types of Conjunctivitis in Adults and Children? (American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Images

• Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis) (VisualDX)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Conjunctivitis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Ambient air pollutants and outpatient visits for conjunctivitis in Hefei, China:...
• Article: Diagnosis of chlamydial and gonococcal conjunctivitis: performance evaluation of a nucleic...
• Article: Birth and neonatal risk factors associated with neonatal conjunctivitis: a retrospective...
• Pink Eye -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Eye Institute

Children

• Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) in Kids (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Pink Eye in Newborns (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Patient Handouts

• Allergic conjunctivitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Conjunctivitis or pink eye (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vernal conjunctivitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish