No one wants to get pink eye. Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is a common eye health problem that many people experience at least once in their life. It is recognizable for its pink or reddish eyes, itchy and gritty sensation, and discharge and crusting around the eye. If you want to stop yourself and your family from getting pink eye, this post will tell you everything you need to know.
What causes pink eye?
Bacteria, viral infections, and allergies are the three pink eye causes. This means you can get pink eye when your allergies flare up and if you have a viral infection – such as a bad cold or even COVID-19. There isn’t much you can do to prevent pink eye caused by viral infections and allergies, other than keeping yourself generally healthy. Bacterial pink eye, however, is easily prevented.
How to prevent pink eye
- Avoid touching your eyes and face. This is a generally good tip for avoiding getting sick and will certainly prevent pink eye since it removes the chance of you passing bacteria from your hands to your eyes.
- Wash your hands regularly. Washing your hands for 20 seconds every 30 minutes, especially if you’re outside of your home, will reduce your chance of picking up bacteria or infections from surfaces.
- Use a clean face towel every day. It’s easy to use the same face towel for a few days, but the more often you use a clean face towel the less likely you are to get bacteria in your eyes.
- Don’t share towels. Even if your whole family are following these tips, there is always a chance one of them could pick up an infection or bacteria. Ensuring everyone in the household has their own towels reduces the chance of spreading bacteria to each other.
- Don’t share cosmetics and makeup brushes. Cosmetics like mascara or makeup brushes can carry bacteria, so avoid sharing them.
- Throw out old cosmetics. If you’ve been holding on to that mascara for many months, it’s time to throw it out. Bacteria builds up on old cosmetics and brushes, so don’t hold on to them for too long and clean your makeup brushes regularly.
- Change your pillowcases regularly. Dirt and bacteria build up on our pillowcases. Changing your pillowcases at least once a week will ensure you’re sleeping on a clean, bacteria-free surface.
- Clean glasses and contact lenses every day. Glasses and contact lenses come into close (and direct) contact with our eyes. Cleaning your glasses with an anti-bacterial solution will keep them bacteria-free. As for contact lenses, if you wear lenses, make sure you keep them clean and you wash your hands before putting them in or taking them out.
Preventing pink eye really comes down to keeping your eyes clean and avoiding bacteria that might come into contact with them. If you want to prevent yourself and your family from getting pink eye, these tips will not only help but will also lead to better health and eye health overall.