When to use antibiotics to treat pink eye?

1. Effects of antibiotics in treating pink eye

Bacterial pink eye (conjunctivitis) can be effectively treated with antibiotic eye drops. The medication kills the bacteria and helps relieve symptoms.

However, in reality, the most common cause of pink eye is a virus, most often caused byadenoviruscaused. The illness usually lasts 7-10 days. In this case, antibiotics are usually ineffective.

Antibiotics cannot kill viruses that cause disease; they are only effective in cases of bacterial conjunctivitis or viral conjunctivitis accompanied by bacterial superinfection.

Antibiotics treat pink eye in the following cases:

Pink eye is caused by bacteria.Pink eye due to other causes but with bacterial infectionPink eye that does not improve within a week or more.Symptoms worsened.There is purulent discharge or suspected bacterial infection...

2. Antibiotics commonly used to treat pink eye

- Fluoroquinolone antibiotics:Some commonly used fluoroquinolone eye drops are ofloxacin 0.3% (oflovid), levofloxacin (cravit 0.5%, 1.5%), ciprofloxacin 0.3% (ciloxan)... These drugs have a broad spectrum of antibacterial effects (both gram-negative and gram-positive), helping to reduce symptoms of pink eye.

- Aminoglycoside antibiotics:Some commonly used aminoglycoside eye drops are tobramycin (tobrex 0.3%), neomycin (neocin)... The drug works by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis and is effective in treating pink eye.

3. Harmful effects of abusing antibiotics to treat pink eye

Antibiotics are not the right "weapon" for all causes of pink eye, especially those caused by viruses or allergies.

This is a prescription drug and should only be used with a doctor's prescription. Therefore, if you arbitrarily use antibiotics to treat pink eye without a specialist's diagnosis, you may not only not cure the disease but also experience side effects.

Some side effects of antibiotics include dry eyes, eye fatigue, and increased intraocular pressure (glaucoma). Not only that, self-medication and overuse of antibiotics can also increase the risk of drug resistance, causing bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics.

4. How to safely use antibiotics to treat pink eye?

To use antibiotics to treat pink eye safely, patients need to comply with:

- Do not use antibiotic eye drops without a prescription from a specialist.

- Strictly follow your doctor's instructions on dosage and duration of medication.

- If there are any unusual symptoms, notify your doctor immediately for timely treatment.

- Do not share personal items (eye drops, glasses, towels, masks, etc.), disinfect household items.

- If you cannot see a doctor immediately, you can use saline solution (NaCl 0.9%) to continuously wash your eyes to remove pus and eye discharge. To reduce inflammation and dry eyes caused by pink eye, you can use artificial tears or cold compresses.

- Do not rub your eyes with your hands because it can cause a stronger inflammatory reaction and also create conditions for viruses and bacteria to enter.

- Stop wearing contact lenses and eye makeup until the pink eye symptoms are gone.

- Wash your hands frequently with soap or hand sanitizer.

- Limit close contact with people who have pink eye.