So I woke up with what I think is pink eye today. The kids have not had it so I must have picked it up at work (even though I am always using sanitizer on my hands). I teach adults so I am around a lot of people there.
Anyhoo do I need to go to urgent care today? I am guessing I do.
Also, It's finally my SIL's baby shower today. Can I go if I sanitize a lot and try not to touch to much?
Symptoms: really red/pink white part of eye, itchy scratchy feeling too it, keeps watering, had a little discharge when woke up but not very much. I do have allergy eyes but this is way more than I usually get.
Went to a quick care kiosk and it's pink eye. Got some drops and called SIL and decided not to go. Thanks for all the advice.
Yes, you need to get the drops right away, and no, you really mustn't go to the baby shower. You are highly contagious. Hand sanitizer is not an antibiotic. Feel better soon!
Pink eye or conjunctivitis is HIGHLY contagious, so unless you want to treat your kids soon I would definitely see a doctor. But I have seen a doctor for what I thought was pink eye (itchy irritated eyes, slightly red in the whites, but no goop in the corners yet) and it was just dryness and lubricating eye drops helped (we have forced hot air heat that is very drying). It could also be allergies and there are drops for that as well. But I would rule out the contagiousness first before doing anything else today.
If you even suspect you have pink eye, then it would really uncool of you to go to the baby shower. I'm sure everyone will understand why you're not there and be thankful you didn't go.
Go to urgent care & get yourself taken care of.
I hope you feel better!
I would go take a shower and wash my face with soap and water. Making sure to clean the eye area well. If the redness and itching and goo go away then you know you laid on something you had a reaction to. If it comes back then take 1/4 dose of Benadryl. Does that alleviate any symptoms? If so it's still an allergy. If all else fails then it may well be just an eye infection.
I would just keep it clean and use partial doses of Benadryl to soothe the itching.
If your own PCP isn't open then I'd go to urgent care. Conjunctivitis is VERY highly contagious and needs treatment right away. I honestly personally wouldn't advise you to go to the shower. You need to have been under treatment for at least 24-48 hours before you're not contagious any longer.
I would offer your SIL profuse apologies but she'll understand. I know how disappointed you must be feeling, especially considering how much family will be there the food and likely how much you helped out. I'd want to be there too.
In most cases the doctor will just advise warm water rinse and to wash your hands often. I had it chronically as a child and remember always getting medicine for it, but when my kids got it the doc explained that they no longer hand it out. In most cases it clears up on it's own with just a little TLC.
I have found this to be true and the healing time to be the same.
Call SIL up and ask what she would prefer. When I was younger I would sun glasses, even in class, cause they reminded me to not touch my eye's. I also washed frequently and carried around hand sanitizer.
Pink eye is a fungus, not a bacteria, so hand sanitizer wont help. Its also contagious until its gone, not just until you start on the meds. Just a heads up.
You may just have a sty, which is a pimple on the inside of your eyelid. Its its pink eye, its usually in both eyes and it itches like crazy. A sty hurts more and is puffier. Hold a hot washcloth, hot as you can handle without being too hot and hold it over your eye. Keep changing it once it cools. If its a sty, this will help. If its pink eye, you need drops from the doctor.
I had pink eye a few weeks ago as a result of a sinus infection so my doctor gave me an oral antibiotic and eye drops. I have also had allergy induced pink eye so I used an over the counter antihistamine drop recommended by the pharmacist. ( sorry I forget the name)
I've had pink eye several times. When I saw the doctor he said that it's a virus and there is nothing that he could do for it. He had me put a warm moist compress on my eyes to ease some of the symptoms. My mother had pink eye for a couple of weeks and because of her age and difficulty with her eyes I took her to the doctor. He said the same thing but because of her age and eye condition he prescribed an anti-biotic ointment to prevent a secondary infection. Her eyes were quite goopy all the time.
Since you only had a small amount of discharge I suspect you don't have pink eye. I have allergies and have woken up a few times with the same symptoms, very little discharge. My eyes were just irritated and not infected. I went to work and all was fine.
I suggest that you don't need to see the doctor unless this goes on for over a week. And I suggest it'll be OK to go to the shower. Just keep your hands away from your eyes.
You can call the advice nurse and ask. I'd call before I went in to Urgent Care.
Yes, you need to go Urgent Care.
No, don't go to the baby shower.
~My nephew just went to Urgent Care last week and was diagnosed with Pink Eye. He was prescribed some type of antibiotic eye drops. He wrestles and probably got it from all those funky wrestling matts, blech! The doctor said that he could return to school and wrestling when he had been on the drops for a complete 24 hours.
Just get some over the counter antibiotic drops, like Polysporin. Warm compresses help it feel better. Don't touch your eyes.
Are you sure it's pink eye?
(Itchy, whites of eye pink, mucus/sleep/junk in your eye?)
Because sometimes it's just dry bloodshot eyes or an allergy and a cool compress can reduce the irritation and rinsing with saline can ease the dryness.
You could go to an urgent care and see what they say.
call the doc and see if he will just you an eye ointment in. But i do think you need to begin treatment. While on the phone get her opinion on the shower.
