Conjunctivitis — red, sticky eye
How to look after a sore, red or sticky eye, and the signs that need checking.
You have conjunctivitis — redness and soreness of the surface of the eye. It is usually caused by a virus or bacteria, and sometimes an allergy. It is common and usually clears up on its own within a couple of weeks.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
These are not simple conjunctivitis. Contact-lens wearers and newborn babies need specialist assessment the same day, not general advice.
- Pain inside the eye, not just irritation or grittiness
- Any change in your vision, or loss of vision
- Your eye hurts in bright light
- A very red eye, especially in a ring around the coloured part
- You wear contact lenses and your eye is sore or red
- A baby under 30 days old with a red or sticky eye
Most conjunctivitis settles on its own within one to two weeks.
- It is not getting better after 1 to 2 weeks
- It keeps coming back
- Several people in the household have caught it
- You want advice about drops or about returning to work, school or nursery
If you wear contact lenses: take them out now and do not wear them again until you have been seen and the eye has been normal for at least 24 hours. A red, painful eye in a lens wearer can be an infection of the cornea, which is treated differently from conjunctivitis and can threaten sight if it is missed. Bring your lenses and their case with you. Throw away the lenses you were wearing. A baby under 30 days old with a red or sticky eye needs same-day assessment, because infections at this age can be serious and need specific tests and treatment.
Caring for your eyes
- Gently wipe away crusts with cotton wool dipped in cooled boiled water. Use a fresh piece for each eye.
- Wash your hands often and do not share towels or pillows — it spreads easily.
- Do not wear contact lenses until your eye is completely better.
- A cool compress held over the eye can soothe it.
- Most cases do not need antibiotic drops and settle on their own.
What is normal
While your eye is healing, you may have any of these:
It usually clears within 2 weeks. Go to work or school as usual unless you feel unwell.