By Roy Benaroch, MD
As printed in Around Town Publishing, June 2007
What should I do about a painful or pink eye?
Irritated, painful, and runny pink eyes can quickly spread through a school or home. Though usually caused by infections, there are a few other triggers of pink eye that parents should also think about.
If your child has a pink eye following a mild injury, there may be a scratch on the surface of the eye. If the child reports a feeling that there’s something in the eye, or if the scratch was caused by sand or other small debris, try to flush the eye out with water or a contact lens soaking solution. A soaking solution or contact lens saline will be more comfortable to use as a flush solution than tap water, but never use a contact lens cleaning solution directly in the eye.
If you can’t flush out the debris, or if your child continues to complain, see your pediatrician. Your child will be more comfortable if you keep the room dark or offer a pair of sunglasses.
Following a more serious injury, such as an eye hit by a hit baseball or poked hard with a stick, don’t try to flush the eye yourself. Cover the area with a cup for protection, and contact your pediatrician, optometrist, or ophthalmologist for instructions.
Most common pink eyes occur without any injury, and are triggered by infection. Often, the eye is gooey and red. You can help your child feel more comfortable with a cool wet compress or artificial tear drops. Contact your pediatrician to help determine if a prescription drop is necessary. Though some cases of “pink eye” are caused by viruses that won’t improve with eye drops, bacterial pink eyes will improve faster with antibiotic treatment. Both bacterial and viral pink eyes are very contagious, so try to keep hands clean and avoid sharing towels and linens. Viral pink eyes remain contagious even when they’re treated with prescription drops.
Eyes can also become pink and irritated from allergies. Usually, the child will complain of an itchy feeling, and the eyes will be watery rather than gooey. Over-the-counter drops such as Zaditor offer good relief for allergic pink eyes.