CDC names three common causes of pink eye: viruses, bacteria and allergens. Telling them apart is most of the decision.
Pink eye comes in three common types, and antibiotic drops only work on one of them.
The conjunctiva is the clear membrane over the white of the eye and the lining of the eyelid. When its small blood vessels swell, the white looks pink or red.
Below are the three types and the cues that separate them. Then the timelines, and the four symptoms that mean stop and get seen.
Three causes, and the cues that separate them
CDC says the most common causes of pink eye are viruses, bacteria and allergens.
Two of the three spread easily from person to person. The third does not spread at all.
- Viral. The most common cause of sudden pink eye. Cleveland Clinic says infections from the adenovirus family lead the list. It often arrives with a cold or a sore throat, and the discharge tends to be watery.
- Bacterial. Cleveland Clinic calls this the second most common cause. The tell is thick discharge that is often yellow, green or white, with crusting on the lashes in the morning.
- Allergic. Mayo Clinic says allergic conjunctivitis affects both eyes and is a response to something like pollen. Intense itching is the marker, and it is not contagious.
One eye or both is a weak clue on its own. Mayo Clinic says viral and bacterial conjunctivitis can affect one eye or both.
Allergic pink eye is the exception. It affects both eyes, because both eyes met the same pollen.
How long each type takes to clear
Cleveland Clinic says how long pink eye lasts depends on what caused it.
Most viral infections run five to seven days, and some run three to four weeks. Bacterial infections usually run around ten days.
CDC frames the viral range slightly differently. It says viral pink eye usually clears in 7 to 14 days without treatment, and in some cases takes 2 to 3 weeks or more.
Mild bacterial pink eye often clears in 2 to 5 days without treatment, though CDC says it can take 2 weeks to go away completely.
Contact lens wearers get a shorter leash. Mayo says if symptoms do not start to get better within 12 to 24 hours, make an appointment.
Antibiotics will not improve viral pink eye; these drugs are not effective against viruses.
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⬇ Download your plan (PDF)The symptoms that mean stop and get seen
Mayo Clinic names four symptoms that call for prompt evaluation: eye pain, a feeling that something is stuck in the eye, blurred vision and light sensitivity.
Those four are not routine pink eye. They are the signs of conditions that look like pink eye and are not.
CDC adds more reasons to call. Intense eye redness, symptoms that get worse or do not improve, and bacterial pink eye that has not improved after 24 hours of antibiotic use.
Newborns are their own category. CDC says a newborn with symptoms of pink eye should see a doctor right away.
A weakened immune system also moves you up the queue, on CDC's own list.
Three pink eye beliefs that do not hold
Three ideas send people to the wrong shelf, and each one has a published answer.
Every case needs antibiotic drops. CDC says antibiotics will not improve viral pink eye, and that mild bacterial pink eye may get better without antibiotic treatment at all. Drops can shorten some bacterial cases and limit spread, which is a different argument.
You have to stay home until it is gone. Mayo Clinic says pink eye is no more contagious than the common cold, and that returning to work or school is okay if you can practice good hygiene and avoid close contact. Close contact work is the exception.
Redness is redness. Mayo says serious eye conditions also cause redness, and names eye pain, a stuck feeling, blurred vision and light sensitivity as the reasons to seek urgent care instead of waiting it out.
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This article is education, not medical advice. CDC says to see a health care provider for pink eye with eye pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision that does not improve when discharge is wiped away, intense redness, or symptoms that get worse or do not improve, and says newborns with symptoms of pink eye should see a doctor right away. Ageless Coach is an affiliate partner and may earn a commission on purchases made through links on this page.