One of the more common conditions that I see throughout the year is “pink eye.” Surprisingly this is not really a straightforward diagnosis. It gets even worse when I start to have to consider treatments. But the diagnosis and treatment have a lot of influence on everyone who comes in contact with the person diagnosed with it.
Pink eye is the common term for conjunctivitis. This just means that the veins of the white part of the eye are swollen so the eye appears to be pink. This term is pretty generic and really does not do anyone justice. Many things can lead to the irritation of the eye to give this appearance. I get a bit wound up over this diagnosis and spend more time than the patient usually wants to spend on it, but I need to educate the patient so that they understand why the treatment is what it is.
The main concern about pink eye is that it is a highly contagious infection. It often is, but it is viral and not bacterial. The antibiotic eye drops that every school and daycare insist be prescribed before little Jane or Johnny can return are 100% ineffective and serve no purpose in the treatment of pink eye. Antibiotics do not, never have and never will, work to treat a viral infection. Everyone seems to know that about colds, so why can’t this information trickle down to this? I don’t know. It isn’t like physicians have not ...
