Cases of pink eye have been recorded as early as the 17th century in journals kept by doctors of that time. However, it was not thoroughly researched and tested until Dr. Joseph Baker in 1876. His records show that: "Pink eye is a name I have come up with a fairly common contagious eye infection. It is my belief that this is caused by the bacterial strains staphylococcus, streptococcus, or hemophilus. Further research will be continued in the next few months." Unfortunately, a severe head injury killed him before he was able to reveal more information
Pink eye has a variety of symptoms, not all of which must be present together. These include: itchiness, redness, photophobia (sensitivity to light), swelling of the lids and/or discharge from the eyes.
Treatment varies depending on the cause. Medications in the form of ointments, drops or pills may be recommended to either help kill the germ infecting the eye, relieve allergic symptoms and/or decrease discomfort. In the case of conjunctivitis due to a viral cold or flu, the practitioner may recommend that you be patient and let it run its course.
