Waking up to the goopy mess of pink eye is one of the dreads of parenthood. But rather than reaching for the lysol and hopping into the car to the pediatrician’s, let’s take a look at the evidence for different treatments for pink eye.
In doing so we can often save a trip to the doctor’s office, the expensive of a doctor’s visit for those with high-deductible insurance, and unnecessary exposure to antibiotics.
What is conjunctivitis/pink eye?
Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva. Â Conjunctiva is clear tissue that covers the the white part of the eye and is inside the eyelid.
The inflammation can come from viruses, bacterial infections including gonorrhea and chlamydia, or irritants including dust and pollen.Â
Symptoms include:
- Redness of the eye
- Increased tears
- Yellow, green, or white discharge from the eye
- Itchy or burning eyes
- Sensitivity to light
- Blurred vision
(source)
How is conjunctivitis spread?
It was drilled into my head via school germ-prevention protocol that pink eye was spread when one sick person touched their eye, and then touched anything else- the desk, a door knob, the faucet in the bathroom, etc. and then another person touched any of those surfaces and then their eyes. Â In reality, there are many ways that conjunctivitis/pink eye is spread, as there are many different causes for it.
Viral conjunctivitis, which the school was focused on preventing, is spread through casual contact such as touching faces, sharing towels, or sharing makeup.  Most cases of ‘pink eye’ are viral. (source)
Allergic conjunctivitis is not contagious, and comes from an allergy.
Bacterial conjunctivitis is contagious, though usually only found in people who have other eye conditions such as chronic dry eyes or inflammation of the eyelids.  Sexually transmitted bacterial infections can infect the eyes in at-risk populations (ie, not most school children). (source)
What is the conventional treatment for conjunctivitis?
Prescription steroidal and/or antibacterial eye drops are commonly prescribed. (source) Viral conjunctivitis is often misdiagnosed as bacterial. (source)
Due to concerns about antibiotic resistance, as well as other problems with overuse of antibiotics, practitioners are being encouraged to allow the illness to run its course without antibiotics.
The ophthalmologist plays a critical role in breaking the chain of transmission of epidemic adenoviral conjunctivitis, primarily by educating the patient and family about proper hygiene. Infected individuals should be counseled to wash hands frequently and use separate towels, and to avoid close contact with others during the period of contagion.
Treatment of conjunctivitis is ideally directed at the root cause. Indiscriminate use of topical antibiotics or corticosteroids should be avoided, because antibiotics can induce toxicity and corticosteroids can potentially prolong adenoviral infections and worsen herpes simplex virus infections. Viral conjunctivitis will not respond to anti-bacterial agents, and mild bacterial conjunctivitis is likely to be self-limited. Moreover, the choice of topical antibiotic agent for treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis is empiric, as no evidence exists demonstrating the superiority of any particular agent.
(source) Emphasis mine.Â
What are side effects to common Pink Eye/Conjunctivitis treatments?
- Antibiotic resistance (source)
- Discomfort
- Allergic reaction
How effective are conventional treatments?
It is now recognized that most cases of pink eye/conjunctivitis are viral in nature, and even if they are bacterial they are self-limiting (go away on their own) and do not require treatments except in extreme cases, when seen in infants, or when caused by an STD such as chlamydia. (source)
What are home remedies for conjunctivitis?
Because the eyes are sensitive, I prefer to not use anything in them unless necessary so we simply clean with a clean wash rag dipped in warm water. My preference is to do the least amount necessary.
Other home remedies:
- Breast milk
- Colloidal Silver (I am VERY cautious with colloidal silver and would not use this remedy)
- Eyebright Herbal Remedy
How effective are home remedies on conjunctivitis?
As we have seen above, this is considered effective treatment in peer-reviewed journals and mainstream medical organizations.
When do I need to seek medical intervention?
- You have preexisting eye conditions (including wearing contacts)
- In a child under 1 year of age, especially in the newborn period
- If symptoms do not improve within 48 hours.
- For severe pain, or if you feel something is not right.
(source)
Wait! Now they won’t let my child back in school. I don’t have a doctor’s note!
And this is why I’m writing this article :) It is school policy in many districts to not let a child back into school unless they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours or have a doctor’s note saying the infection was viral and no longer contagious.
As we saw above, antibiotics are not recommended in most cases, even if it is viral, and due to high deductible insurance becoming more and more common, a doctor’s note can be costly and time consuming.  Of course we don’t hesitate to spend money on our children’s healthcare when it is needed, but $135+ from an office visit (plus the time in missed work) can go far in the way of purchasing healthy food or needed supplements/medications.
When we do things differently, even if they are evidence-based, it can be frustrating for everyone. Try not to take the school policy personally, it is there because the school is concerned about keeping all the children healthy. Â We cannot expect every school secretary to be up to date on every new medical development :)
What I do in these situations:
- Call before school starts and ask about the specific policy.
- If the policy says ‘doctor’s note or antibiotics for 24 hours’ calmly explain that you did not feel that this minor illness required a doctor’s or urgent care visit, and say that your child has been fever free for 24 hours, no pain killers are being used, and the eye is no longer goopy.
- If the school is still insisting that the child needs to be seen by a doctor, request to keep the child home for an additional week, so that they will be sure to be illness free upon return to school. (the school will not take you up on this offer, as everyone by now can see that it is ridiculous to keep a healthy fever-free child home for a full week)
- Smile during this conversation, do not get defensive, and remain silent as much as possible to give the person you’re talking to time to process your very reasonable request.  Meltdowns, and arguing do not help this process :)
- Remind the school staff that you always want to do everything possible to avoid spreading disease, and you will come pick your child up immediately if they feel that he is contagious.
- Thank the school staff for working with you, acknowledge that it does take them more time and effort to accommodate families that do things differently.
What I do in my family
That goopy mess is essentially mucus. I rinse it off gently with a warm wet washcloth, just as I would clean up a goopy nose. I give my children weight-appropriate doses of NSAIDs (children’s ibuprofen) for discomfort.
Our eyes are sensitive and obviously important, so we do want to carefully monitory any illness that involves them, but if after 12 or 24 hours of rest, avoiding the public, and cleaning as needed, the ‘pink eye’ is getting better, not worse, we let it ride its course.  If there was severe discomfort, or if it continued to get worse after 24 hours, I would seek medical attention.  We have never had that be the case, it’s always started clearing up for us in under 12 hours.
(top photo credit)
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So can elderberry and most other treatments for viruses be used to help support the body?
Yes :)
Raw cows milk works great too
I homeschool, so doctors notes don’t matter here. But I’m glad to read about the best way to handle this situation!
But a warning to parents of kids with pink eye: I worked in daycare settings all through high school. During my junior year I developed extreme sentivity to light and painful eyes. My optomoligist explained that I had apparently contracted pink eye, but without showing symptoms. Therefore, I had worn my contact lenses throughout the illness. Therefore, the little dead pink eye viruses were trapped under my contacts and caused severe irritation (my doctor used fancier words here, but you get the point). I ended up having to give contacts a break for several weeks.
So if your kid has pink eye, maybe save yourself some trouble and don’t wear your own contacts until you think your whole house is healed!
I was wondering what about it was dangerous for people with contacts, but I didn’t look into it further. Thanks for explaining!
Why are you very cautious about colloidal silver? We use Soverign silver for many things here. From what many experts say, it’s very safe if used as needed and in small doses..
It’s a heavy metal, and if plain water will do the same thing, I wish to avoid it :)
I got pink eye all of the time when I was a kid. My eyes would completely seal up. When my son got this (so far only once) I had a talk with him and explained that I needed to put drops in his eyes that would allow him to see. He agreed and every time I gave him a dose, I had him watch me first.
I took purified water about 2 tbsp with about 1/4 tsp Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. I just used a cotton ball and squeezed out three drops of the concoction into each eye. It has a bit of a sting, but after about 20 seconds of blinking, the sting disappears. I did this about 2 times a day – that was about all he could stand. After the first dose, there was an immediate improvement. By day two, it was basically gone. Day three, completely cleared up and the final doses were preventative.
If you do this, definitely try it on yourself first. It will let you know if you need to add more water – you don’t want to burn their little eyes.
I agree that it worked for you, but I think if plain water will also work (in our cases it resolves in a few hours) I would prefer to just wipe away with plain warm water :) Thanks for sharing though, Hannah :)
Here is a good article on the dangers of NSAIDs: http://www.mercola.com/infographics/nsaids.htm
It would be best to never use them so for children there are alternative herbal and essential oils that can be given safely to help alleviate pain and discomfort.
Hi Sally, thanks for stopping by. While I don’t exactly advocate their use, I choose to use NSAIDs as needed for pain in my own family.
I have had pink eye in the past when my kids have brought it home and did read that most of the time it is viral and that it will go away on it’s own in 4 days, so the last time I had it I did not treat it at all. It did look really bad on the 3rd day and then on day 4 it was gone.
Our daughter did have it and the school did require a doctors visit, so I did get the antibiotic, but it was close to the weekend. I gave it to her the eye drops the first day and had to send it to school with her, but for the weekend I did not use it at all and it was gone by Monday. I did not get pink eye when my daughter had it and normally if I just look at someone with it I get it. :) It could be because I have allowed my body to fight it on it ‘s own.
One treatment I did use in the past if my eyes were itching or soar, I would use raw milk and put in my eyes. It felt very soothing.
I usually end up with a case of pink eye every year or so and I will clean my eyes with a cotton ball soaked in warm black tea. If I do this a couple times the ought the day, it’s usually cleared up in a day or so.
My son used to get pink eye frequently when he was very young, and it sometimes seemed to linger for days. We learned to put a tea bag of chamomile tea on each eye a few times a day. It brought immediate soothing, which may have contributed to ithe speedy healing. When I mentioned this years later to a friend who is a PA, he replied that a plain hot compess would give the same benefitt, but that obviously chamomile tea would not hurt. :-)