Conjunctivitis | Symptoms & Causes
What causes conjunctivitis?
There are many causes of pink eye, including the following:
In this section, only allergic conjunctivitis will be addressed.
What are the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis?
Each child may experience symptoms differently, but the most common symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis include:
- itchy eyes
- watery discharge
- swelling of the eyelids
- redness of the eyes
- stringy discharge from the eyes
Conjunctivitis | Diagnosis & Treatments
How do we diagnose allergic conjunctivitis?
A diagnosis of conjunctivitis is usually made based on a complete medical history and physical examination. Allergic conjunctivitis does not typically involve taking cultures of eye drainage.
How do we treat allergic conjunctivitis?
Since there's no cure for allergic conjunctivitis, avoiding the irritant is the best way to manage the condition. Applying cold compresses to your child's eyes may also help with the itching and swelling.
Your child's physician may prescribe the following medications to help with the symptoms:
- an atihistamine to help decrease histamine release, which may help decrease itchy, watery eyes; these medications may make your child drowsy
- non-sedating antihistamines (Zyrtec or Claritin, for example), which work like antihistamines but without the side effect of making your child drowsy
- eye drops to help relieve the itching and redness
