How to Treat Pink Eye and Other Viruses

Liz Bonis from Local 12 asks the experts at TriHealth about Pink Eye, Conjunctivitis and other viruses going around this holiday season.

Pink Eye: What Causes It?

Conjunctivitis – more commonly known as pink eye – is so prevalent because it can stem from a virus, an allergy or a bacterial infection.

“The bad one, or the one that people worry about, is the bacterial [kind] because it’s very contagious,” Dr. Lee Niemeyer explains.

• Learn more about Conjunctivitis in the TriHealth.com Health Library. 

Treating Pink Eye

If think you have pink eye, it’s best to visit your doctor, who will prescribe eye drops if you are infected with the bacterial kind. In order to treat it effectively and manage symptoms, Dr. Niemeyer also suggests:

• Not wearing contact lenses if you wear glasses
• Not sharing makeup
• Properly washing your hands

Flu and Cold Season in Full Swing

The flu is another virus going around. “It hits you pretty hard, pretty quick, with things like fevers, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches – those types of things,” Dr. Farzad Mazloomi points out.

In addition to the flu, there is another bad cold virus going around that has similar symptoms. However, he warns that you need to distinguish symptoms between the flu and a cold in order to treat each appropriately.

“A viral illness generally has to run its course, so you usually just have to do comfort care,” he says. “A bacterial infection may require something specifically from your doctor to treat it.” 

Learn more about the flu and viral colds in the TriHealth.com Health Library:

• Flu: causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention
• Colds and the flu
• Common cold - how to treat at home