Pink eye (conjunctivitis) is the inflammation or infection of the transparent membrane that lines your eyelid and eyeball. It's characterized by redness and a gritty sensation in your eye, along with itching. Often a discharge forms a crust on your eyelashes during the night.

Conjunctivitis can be very scary when you first experience it. You will likely feel itchy and uncomfortable, eyes look crusty and red, and be generally, well, sore.

Your conjunctiva (the white part surrounding your iris) turns blood red or entirely pink. But despite temporarily looking like a vampire, you shouldn't worry too much. It tends to go away after a week or so.

How do you get conjunctivitis?

Viral conjunctivitis is highly contagious. Most viruses that cause conjunctivitis spread through hand-to-eye contact by hands or objects that are contaminated with the infectious virus. Having contact with infectious tears, eye discharge, fecal matter, or respiratory discharges can contaminate hands.

What is conjunctivitis?

For a more precise answer, conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, the clear membrane that covers our eyes.

Conjunctivitis can stem from either a bacterial or viral infection. Telling the difference between the two isn't always obvious. Bacterial conjunctivitis usually has more crusting form overnight. This will be from an eye discharge. Viral conjunctivitis tends to stay in one eye, while the bacterial form usually spreads to both eyes. You can treat the bacterial form of conjunctivitis with antibiotics. The viral form usually just needs to run its course. But again, if you don't see an improvement after five days, see your doctor.

How contagious is conjunctivitis?

We see many social media comments from teens and preteens asking, "How do you get conjunctivitis?" The answer: Conjunctivitis is easy to catch-very easy, in fact. Coughing, sneezing, or touching can spread the infection, and it can take off like wildfire in the right conditions.

So is conjunctivitis contagious? Absolutely!

It is very common among school age children and extremely contagious, which means that you should avoid contact with others as much as possible for the first couple of days after contracting the infection. Covering your mouth and repeatedly washing your hands with hot, soapy water can help limit it from spreading.

If you or your child has conjunctivitis, try to limit contact with others as much as possible. That means no school or work for the first 36 - 48 hours after contracting it, which is generally the bacterial contagious period.

Treatments for conjunctivitis

As we said, conjunctivitis usually goes away on its own after a few days. To help usher the bacterial form out the door and get rid of conjunctivitis faster, there are over-the-counter antibiotic drops for conjunctivitis that are available at most chemists.

For natural remedies for conjunctivitis at home, try warm compresses over the eyes. These can help provide some relief, as can rest and relaxation. Try to avoid TV and definitely don't share washcloths with your compresses. This can spread the infection to others-and fast.

As you can imagine, an entire family showing the signs and symptoms of conjunctivitis is not fun at all. As soon as you detect an infection, follow the general steps we listed, visit your family doctor if the condition persists, and you should be on the road to recovery with this annoying, but mostly harmless eye disease.

How Long Does Pink Eye Last?

How long pink eye lasts depends on which type you have and how you treat it. Most of the time, pink eye clears up within a few days to two weeks.

There are several types of pink eye, including viral and bacterial:

Viral pink eye is caused by viruses like adenovirus and herpes virus. It usually clears up without treatment in 7 to 14 days.

Bacterial pink eye is caused by an infection with bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumonia. Antibiotics should start clearing up the infection within 24 hours of starting to use them. Even if you don’t use antibiotics, mild bacterial pink eye almost always improves within 10 days.

Pink eye is usually contagious for as long as you have symptoms like redness, tearing, and crusting. These symptoms should improve within 3 to 7 days.

Using antibiotics for a bacterial infection clears up symptoms faster, but won’t be useful for treating viral infections or other causes of pink eye.

Pink eye prevention

Pink eye is very contagious. To avoid catching or transmitting the infection:

Wash your hands often throughout the day with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Wash your hands before and after you use eye drops or put in contact lenses. Also wash your hands if you come into contact with an infected person’s eyes, clothes, or other personal items.

Don’t touch or rub your eyes.

Don’t share personal items such as towels, blankets, pillowcases, makeup, or makeup brushes.

Wash bedding, washcloths, and towels in hot water after you use them.

Thoroughly clean contact lenses and glasses.

If you have pink eye, stay home from school or work until your symptoms clear up.

Pink eye is a common eye infection that’s often caused by bacteria or viruses. Most of the time pink eye is mild and will improve on its own, with or without treatment. More serious cases may need treatment with antibiotics or antiviral medicines. Practicing good hand-washing hygiene and not sharing personal items can prevent the spread of pink eye.

Natural treatments

Natural treatments can potentially help prevent viral conjunctivitis. Eating probiotics and a diet rich in vitamins A, K, C, and B can help to improve eye health and ward off infection.

If conjunctivitis already has its pink grip on your peepers and it isn’t a bacterial infection, try these remedies to ease your symptoms.

• Wash all of your sheets.
• Take zinc supplements.
• Apply cold compresses to your eyes.
• Flush your eyes out regularly with clean water.
• Get lots of sleep.

Having pink eye isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, but it’s easy to treat. You’ll generally be out of commission for about a week. That’s from the first sign of infection until it’s resolved. Prepare to see your doctor by making note of your symptoms, and the timeline in which you contracted the disease.

Once your physician has determined if your infection is viral or bacterial and has prescribed the right medication, you’re well on your way to being clear-eyed and healthy.