As many as 20 million Americans develop pink eye every year, and chances are your child might be one of them.
You get a call from the school health office to come pick up your kid--the one with the pink-tinged eyes who seemed perfectly fine, really, before leaving home in the morning. Then you schlep to the pediatrician’s office, only to learn that your child’s eyes are pink from rubbing them or from an allergy, nothing more. Even if the eyes are infected, it’s most likely with the same type of virus that causes colds.
Just as there’s no cure for the common cold, neither is there an approved treatment for pink eye caused by related viruses. But Swedish researchers say they might have found one in a new drug. In the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, the scientists describe a “molecular wipe” that sweeps up the viruses that cause pink eye, preventing them from infecting the cornea.
While the wipe isn’t yet on the market, pediatrician Cynthia Devore says swiping the eye with a cotton ball dunked in warm water could accomplish the same thing. Even better, Devore says, use a little non-stinging baby shampoo.
It’s usually not necessary to see a doctor or keep kids out of school for pink eye, says Devore, who practices in Pittsford, N.Y. Devore ought to know. She chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on School Health, the same folks who last year said it’s not necessary to keep kids out of school just because they have head lice. Amen to that.
Like colds, pink eye is caused by adenoviruses. So just as schools don't exclude kids with colds, neither should they send kids home with pink eye, unless it's really bothering the child.
There are exceptions, though, Devore notes. These are signs you should seek a doctor’s opinion, she says: Pain, what appears to be a blister near the eye or on the tip of the nose, or really red skin around the eyes. That blister could be a sign of a herpes infection, a rare cause of pink eye that could endanger your child’s vision (remember, herpes viruses also cause cold sores).
Antiviral medications can treat herpes infections, but parents shouldn’t demand antibiotic drops for garden-variety pink eye, Devore says. You’ve heard it before: Antibiotics work against bacteria, not viruses. Doctors can tell by looking whether pink eye is due to an infection or not, she says, but short of culturing a specimen from the eye, they can’t distinguish between infections caused by viruses or by bacteria.
The best way to prevent the spread of pink eye is good old hand washing, Devore says. And remind your kids not to touch their face (although I have to say, good luck with that).
“What’s really important is that people not overreact,” Devore says. “Just reminding kids about personal hygiene should be adequate to protect against an outbreak.”
Do you keep your kids out of school when they have pink eye?
Rita Rubin, a contributing writer for msnbc.com and today.com, previously covered medicine for USA Today and U.S. News & World Report. She lives in suburban Washington, D.C., with her husband and two daughters.
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