Reoccuring Pink Eye

I've had pink eye come & go for the past 6 months. My first case, I did nothing but swab my eye with water, assuming that my daughter brought it home from daycare & that it would clear on its own. After it came back the 2nd time, I went to my Dr. who prescribed erthyromycin ointment. After the third time I just used some more of the ointment. But when it came back again I went to my Dr. & she couldn't believe my situation so she sent my to an Opthamologist to see if there is some underlying problem or cause. He simply looked at my eye, did a couple of tests, & diagnosed me with pink eye. Duh, I know I have pink eye, but WHY??? I tried to ask him a couple of questions like, "Is it possible to reinfect yourself over & over again?" or "Is the medicine I've been taking not strong enough?". He basically just told me to do my eye drops(Polymyxib B Sulfate & Trimethoprim) & if it comes back again, call. Well, it came back again. It starts & sometimes stays in only one eye. A small amount of itch & discharge but definetly red & irritated. A couple of years ago I had allergy eyes for the first time but I can't believe this is allergies cuz I've tried allergy meds too. Any idea as to what is going on with me???

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

First off if you wear contact lens the most likely cause is ongoing irritation from the contact lens. Recurring infection, irritation and redness are a frequent reason for people to have to stop wearing their contact lens.

Second there are things that cause recurrent eye infections: rubbing or touching your eyes frequently, certain problems with the eyelids or eyelashes, a chronic eye infection of the eyelids (blepharitis), chemical irriation (like people that work in smoky places like bars and casinos), people that have dry eyes.

Allergies can often simulate an eye infection. The main point about allergy is less matter and more itching than an infection.

Lastly there are people that just seem to have recurrent eye infections with no "good" reason. It's like some people never get colds and other people have 5 or 6 or more colds per year.

There are problems with using antibiotic eyedrops for a long time (super resistance of bacteria) so don't take medications except as directed by your ophthalmologist.

JCH III MD   Eye PHysician and Surgeon