Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)

There are three types of pink eye, also known as conjunctivitis: bacterial, viral, and allergen- related. Pink eye can also be brought on by getting something in your eye, like sand or a piece of a foreign object. Chemicals and pollutants can bring about allergic reactions that cause pink eye.

• Bacterial conjunctivitis is a rare inflammatory infection of the eye caused by direct contact with infected secretions. The most common causes of bacterial pink eye are:
  • Staphylococcus aureus (staph infection)
  • Haemophilus influenzae (bacterial infection found mostly in babies and children)
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcal disease)
  • Moraxella catarrhalis (common cause of inner ear infections and sinus infections)
  • Chlamydia trachomatis (sexually transmitted disease that can be passed from the mother to the baby during childbirth)
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae (a sexually transmitted disease affecting the mucous membranes of the reproductive tract that can be passed along to an infant during childbirth)
• Viral conjunctivitis, or viral pink eye, is the most common and most contagious form of conjunctivitis caused by a virus. It is usually transmitted via hand-to-eye contact or by touching an object that someone infected with pink eye has touched and then touching your eye. Viral pink eye, or infectious conjunctivitis, is easily transmitted through infectious tears or infected eye discharge. Hands that have been contaminated with contagious respiratory droplets can also cause viral conjunctivitis.
• Allergic conjunctivitis. When the eyelids' lining and the eyes' whites are irritated by an allergen, pink eye is the inflammatory response. This is usually a seasonal reaction associated with upper respiratory tract allergic reactions to pollen, pet dander, mold, dust, or other airborne allergens.