I woke up yesterday (06/18) with pink eye. It was only a little bit and mostly to one side of the eye. By the end of the day it was really red and pussing like mad (imagine your eye running like your nose does with a cold). I woke up today with my eye less red and no longer pussing, but now its not as open as my other one. Is there a chance that my eye will get all better by 7 P.M. tonight? How long does it usually take for the pink eye to go away? Is there anything I can do? Should I see a doctor?
All About Vision: Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye). From your description, it sounds likely you have the viral form. It should clear up on its own within a few days. If not, you ought to see your physician.
Days! Oh man. Alright, thanks for the help.
Or, if you prefer a Biblical prescription: “If thine eye offends thee…”
Definitely see a doctor. If it’s bacterial, they can try antibiotics (usually eyedrops, sometimes pills).
Some varieties are highly contagious. Wash your hands frequently. Folklore recommends getting a clean pillowcase daily, and disinfecting everything you touch.
I had a bacterial case a couple of months ago. Cleared up after a few days of eyedrops. I had a relapse a couple of weeks later. That cleared up after a few days of eyedrops plus pills. So far, no more relapses.
It sucked. You have my sympathies.
For god’s sake see a doctor. Your eyes are NEVER something to take risks over. There are over-the-counter remedies such as eyewashes, but better safe than sorry. Especially as you didn’t do anything about yours and it’s got worse.
I know from bitter experience that the earlier you get treatment, the better. Otherwise it can progress to corneal ulcers, viral keratosis, etc.
Note for any contact wearers: the INSTANT you suspect conjunctivitis or any eye-disorder, remove your lenses. Even if you loathe wearing glasses. Otherwise you’re looking like ulcers, and several weeks of having to wear glasses (as opposed to perhaps just a week or so if you go to your eye practioner immediately).
As well as the lotions, you need to wash your eyes as often as possible. It’s a bit odd at first, but get used to splashing your eyes with water, several times a day. Open wide, splash water in, blink it around, repeat. Lean over a basin and use your hands to splash the water in. Choose cold/tepid/warm, whatever you find most comfortable. Do this hourly if you can. Yes - this pretty much means putting on make-up is pointless.
Another tip: try not to let your practioner prescribe you oral antibiotics for an eye problem. You don’t need them, and they’ll only weaken your immune system and lead to other complications. Topical antibiotics work fine - maybe a couple of days longer - but I have had several severe eye infections since being in the Middle East and topical stuff has always cleared it up.
In the future, stay away from Scott Baio!
I have something to do in about 2 hours, someone told me to try Visine-A cause thats what they did. Anyone know how safe this is?
Kind of like cold medicine, that’ll relieve some symptoms but won’t cure the problem … You don’t need to rush to the emergency room tonight, but definitely call your doctor in the morning. If it’s bacterial, there are prescription eye-drops that can (IME) knock that out in 12-24 hours (though you’d need to keep taking it for a few days after that, to make sure it doesn’t come right back-again, follow your doctor’s instructions, as always).
Woah! Not five minutes after I put 2 drops in did the pink go away. I still feel it there, I just can’t see it. Gonna see the doctor tomorrow so I can be all good again. Thanks for the help Dopers.
Don’t, I repeat “don’t” – go decapitating all of the zombies.
There are many eye ointments (eg those containing boracic acid) that reduce redness and pinkness, but have no effect on the underlying infection. The only real point of these ointments is to make tired or dusty eyes more comfortable and more cosmetically appealing.
Get thee to the doctor’s office. Get the antibiotic eye drops. Problem solved.
And if you act cranky and sorta depressed like I did the last time I got pink eye, the nursie might be nice and give you a Vicodin prescription. 
You might want to see a Doctor of Genetics… you might be an albino.
My mother left pink eye untreated and when she finally got to the doctor, he said it was the worst case he had ever seen, and that she could have done permanent damage to her eye. Go to the doctor. You don’t want to fuck around with that…or you’ll look like him —> 
Why am I the only person who has ever figured this out? The instant your eye starts to feel itchy and gets red, go to the bathroom, take out and clean your contacts, and spend a couple minutes splashing cold water in your eye over and over again. Works for me every time.
Maybe I’m mistyaking eye irritations for conjunctivitus, but whenever a friend has pink eye I ask if they tried splashing water in their eye and I invariably get a blank look.
Ryanbobo, I think you are mistaking the two maladies. Pink eye is a whole 'nuther animal.
Count me in as one who recommends going to see your doctor. I’ve had pink eye/conjunctivitis many MANY times and each time it made me want to gouge out my eye with a spoon. It is highly contageous so get them antibiotic eye drops in ASAP!
Now you’ve done it. My eye is wigging out just thinking about it. Owww! :smack:
Speaking from the experience gained as a long time contact lens user, after you have seen your doctor and had your prescription filled, and while you are still in the drug store, buy new mascara, eye liner, eye shadow, brushes and anything else that you use around your eyes. Then when you get home, throw away all your old products. They are probably contaminated.
In my experience, pink eye is mostly an annoyance, rather than something to get too hyped up about. It’s always smart to check with a doctor as soon as you can. I’ve had pink eye many times in my life, and for the most part it just goobered up my eyes for a few days. But there was this one time…
I woke up with pink eye. No big deal, I’ve had it before. I couldn’t get to the doc at the university health center that day, but I made an appointment for the next day (a Friday). By then, both my eyes were in pretty sad shape. The doc took a look, prescribed some meds and off I went. Unfortunately, my eyes got worse. Lots worse. I put up with it on Saturday (thinking the pink eye was just running its natural course). By Sunday I was in some major pain and my eyes looked worse than anything a Hollywood make-up artist could conceive. On Monday I got in to see an eye doc. He took one look at me and said “Holy crap.” Apparently on top of a nasty case of bacterial conjunctivitis, I was also having an allergic reaction of some sort to the medication the first doc gave me. It took another 10 days for everything to clear up. My eye doctor strongly advised me never again to let my eyes get that bad, but he did thank me for the really cool photographs he was able to take of me (which he used for teaching purposes).