Conjunctivitis, commonly known as “pink eye”, is an inflammation or infection of the transparent membrane (conjunctiva) that lines your eyelid and covers the white part of your eyeball, giving it a pink or red colour. When small blood vessels in the conjunctiva become inflamed, they’re more visible, causing the whites of your eyes and often the eyelid margins as well, to appear reddish or pink. The eyelids can be puffy, the eyes watery or sticky.
Pink eye is often characterised by redness, itchiness, blurred vision and a gritty feeling in one or both eyes. There can be discharge, watering, or both.
A variety of factors, including bacterial infection, viral infections, allergies, or a foreign object in the eye, can cause the condition. Here we are concerned with infectious conjunctivitis, viral or bacterial conjunctivitis.
Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis can be quite contagious and commonly spread among children in schools, although adults can also contract these forms of pink eye.
Allergic conjunctivitis is caused by the body’s reaction to allergens such as pollen or dust mites. It can also occur as a reaction to certain substances used to make contact lenses or from substances found in cosmetics or eye drops. Allergic conjunctivitis is watery and never sticky.
Conjunctivitis caused by these allergic reactions underscores the importance of identifying the type of conjunctivitis to apply the appropriate treatment.
Blepharo-conjunctivitis is a gentler form of sticky red eye where the eyelid margins and lash roots are the primary source of infection, usually bacterial.