About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Treatment for bacterial conjunctivitis
If your infection is bacterial, your doctor may prescribe antibiotic eyedrops as pink eye treatment, and the infection should go away within several days. Antibiotic eye ointment, in place of eyedrops, is sometimes prescribed for treating bacterial pink eye in children. An ointment is often easier to administer to an infant or young child than are eyedrops, though the ointment may blur vision for up to 20 minutes after application. With either form of medication, expect signs and symptoms to subside within a few days. Follow your doctor's instructions and use the antibiotics until your prescription runs out, to prevent recurrence of the infection.
Treatment for viral conjunctivitis
There is no treatment for most cases of viral conjunctivitis. Instead, the virus needs time to run its course — up to two or three weeks. Viral conjunctivitis often begins in one eye and then infects the other eye within a few days. Your signs and symptoms should gradually clear on their own.
Antiviral medications may be an option if your doctor determines that your viral conjunctivitis is caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Treatment for allergic conjunctivitis
If the irritation is allergic conjunctivitis, your doctor may prescribe one of many different types of eyedrops for people with allergies. These may include antihistamines, decongestants, mast cell stabilizers, steroids and anti-inflammatory drops. You may also reduce the severity of your of allergic conjunctivitis symptoms by avoiding whatever causes your allergies, when possible.
- Conjunctivitis. American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/asset.axd?id=70977954-f688-41e3-a009-d2beb86765a9. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Jacobs DS. Conjunctivitis. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed April 29, 2010.
- Care of the patient with conjunctivitis. St. Louis, Mo.: American Optometric Association. http://www.aoa.org/documents/CPG-11.pdf. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Conjunctivitis. American Optometric Association. http://www.aoa.org/conjunctivitis.xml. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Conjunctiva/sclera/iris/external disease. In: Ehlers JP, et al. The Wills Eye Manual: Office and Emergency Room Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008. http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&NEWS=N&PAGE=booktext&D=books&AN=01337416/5th_Edition/3&XPATH=/OVIDBOOK%5b1%5d/METADATA%5b1%5d/TBY%5b1%5d/EDITORS%5b1%5d. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Olitzky SE, et al. Disorders of the conjunctiva. In: Kliegman RM. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/189473994-2/0/1608/0.html#. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Koby M. Conjunctivitis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191205553-2/0/2088/0.html#. Accessed April 26, 2010.
- Kapadia MK, et al. Evaluation and management of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. 2006;39:959.
Find Mayo Clinic on