Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhen to Seek HelpAntibiotics for Pink EyeOther TreatmentsTimeline
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
When to Seek Help
Antibiotics for Pink Eye
Other Treatments
Timeline
If your eye is swollen and red, you may haveconjunctivitis, commonly known aspink eye. When the cause of the condition is bacterial, a healthcare provider may prescribe antibiotics to speed up recovery.
Pink eye occurs when the clearconjunctivathat covers thesclera(the white part of the eye) is inflamed. The blood vessels are swollen, making the eye appear pink.
Usually, you can count on pink eye to clear up on its own. However, treatment is sometimes used to speed up recovery. In the case of bacterial conjunctivitis, antibiotic drops or ointment—not oral antibiotics—may be prescribed.
This article will highlight when it’s important to reach out for help for pink eye, the role of antibiotic drops for pink eye, how other treatments may help, and how long it may take to be free of pink eye.
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When to Seek Medical Help for Pink Eye
While often it’s not necessary to get medical help with pink eye, there are times when it’s important to seek treatment. Here’s what to watch for:
How Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis) Is Treated
Antibiotics can help speed bacterial conjunctivitis recovery. Your immune system can often fight off pink eye in a week to 10 days. But with the aid of topical antibiotics, bacterial conjunctivitis will often go away in just two or three days.
The most appropriate antibiotic will depend somewhat on the bacteria causing the infection. In more severe cases, particularly if aPseudomonasinfection is the cause, your healthcare provider will likely prescribe a fluoroquinolone drop such as Moxeza (moxifloxacin), Iquix (levofloxacin), or Ciloxan (ciprofloxacin). Your healthcare provider will decide what is best suited for your particular case.
Typically, your provider won’t prescribe oral antibiotics. Most bacterial infections respond to topical antibiotic drops or ointments. But your healthcare provider may give you an oral prescription in cases of infections such asgonorrheaorchlamydia.
Which Types of Pink Eye Can Be Treated With Antibiotics?
Other Pink Eye Treatments
In most cases, your natural defenses will work to clear your pink eye infection. However, you can also take other steps to help soothe your eyes and promote healing. Steps to consider include:
How Long Does Pink Eye Last?
While the good news is that in most cases pink eye resolves on its own, you’re likely wondering how long this may take. If you have mild bacterial conjunctivitis, this will likely start to clear up without treatment within about two to five days. Still, it may take as long as two weeks for this to completely dissipate.
Meanwhile, if you have a mild case of viral conjunctivitis, this will take a week or two to go away in most cases. But for some this may take as much as two or even three weeks to resolve.
Antibiotics won’t do anything to help with viral conjunctivitis. But if you have a more serious virus such as herpes simplex virus or varicella-zoster virus causing the virus, your healthcare provider can prescribe antiviral medication to help combat these.
Summary
Often, recovering from pink eye is simply a matter of letting the condition run its course. But if you’re in significant pain, if your symptoms are getting worse, or if you have a weakened immune system, make sure to reach out to an eye doctor or your primary healthcare provider.
If you have a bacterial infection, you may be prescribed a topical antibiotic drop or some ointment. If you have viral pink eye, antibiotics won’t help. But for some viruses, a specific antiviral medication can speed recovery.
Even without treatment, bacterial infections will begin to go away in just a few days, and mild viral infections will take a week or two to dissipate.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Conjunctivitis (pink eye): treatment.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Conjunctivitis.University of Wisconsin – Madison.Pink eye.
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Conjunctivitis (pink eye): treatment.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Conjunctivitis.University of Wisconsin – Madison.Pink eye.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Conjunctivitis (pink eye): treatment.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Conjunctivitis.University of Wisconsin – Madison.Pink eye.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Conjunctivitis (pink eye): treatment.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Conjunctivitis.
University of Wisconsin – Madison.Pink eye.
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