HealthInfo Canterbury
Treating conjunctivitis
Te whakarauora i te mate pīkaru
The treatment for conjunctivitis depends on what is causing it.
Allergic conjunctivitis
This type of conjunctivitis gets better when you avoid the things that cause the allergy. Anti-allergy eye drops or antihistamine tablets can reduce the allergic response and relieve your symptoms. Antibiotic eye drops don't help allergic conjunctivitis.
Viral conjunctivitis
There is no effective treatment for common viral conjunctivitis. In most cases, it gets better on its own over a few days.
- Viral conjunctivitis is contagious, so take care to wash your hands, use separate towels and avoid touching your face.
- You can clean away secretions from eyelids and lashes (see Self-care for infectious conjunctivitis below).
- You can use artificial tears eye drops for relief from any discomfort.
Bacterial conjunctivitis
Most cases of bacterial conjunctivitis are mild and usually get better on their own within a few days.
- You can clean away secretions from eyelids and lashes (see Self-care for infectious conjunctivitis below).
- You can use artificial tears eye drops for relief from any discomfort.
- Antibiotic eye drops aren't usually necessary for a mild infection.
- In some cases where the infection is more severe or persistent, you might need antibiotic eye drops or eye ointment.
Self-care for infectious conjunctivitis
Both viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are forms of infectious conjunctivitis, which means they can spread from one eye to another and from one person to another. You can care for yourself by carefully washing your eyes.
- Before touching your eyes, wash your hands with soap and warm water.
- Dry your hands with a clean (or disposable) towel.
- Clean away any pus, crust or discharge with a disposable cotton swab soaked in water.
- Wipe your eye once, from the end nearest your nose to the outside, then throw the swab away. Continue until your eye is clean.
- Wash and dry your hands again.
It's best to use surgical swabs from your pharmacist or disposable eye make-up removal pads, rather than cotton wool balls because they can unravel, leaving cotton in your eye.
Contact lens users
- Don't wear lenses while you have an infection and for 48 hours after it has gone.
- Discard any disposable lenses and cases.
- If you're using non-disposable lenses, clean your lenses and containers completely before reusing.
Reducing the spread of infectious conjunctivitis
Good hygiene can help prevent the spread of conjunctivitis.
- Try not to rub or touch your eye – you can spread the infection to your other eye or to someone else.
- If you do touch your eye, wash your hands well afterwards.
- Use your own facecloth, towels, pillowcases and bed linen and change these regularly.
It's best to keep young tamariki (children) with infectious conjunctivitis home from daycare or school if the eye is sticky or weeping, because the discharge is infectious.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- KidsHealth – Conjunctivitis
Information about conjunctivitis in tamariki, what it is and how to care for it.
- American Academy of Ophthalmology – Conjunctivitis: What is pink eye?
More information about the different causes of conjunctivitis, how to tell the difference and how to treat them.
Content shared between HealthInfo Canterbury, KidsHealth and Health Navigator NZ as part of a National Health Content Hub collaborative. Last reviewed March 2023.
Sources
See also:
Review key: HICJC-49685
