Eye Infections (Print Version)

Your eyes can get infections from bacteria, fungi or viruses. Eye infections can occur in different parts of the eye and can affect just one eye or both. Two common eye infections are

Conjunctivitis - also known as pink eye. Conjunctivitis is often due to an infection. Children frequently get it, and it is very contagious.
Stye - a bump on the eyelid that happens when bacteria from your skin get into the hair follicle of an eyelash.

Symptoms of eye infections may include redness, itching, swelling, discharge, pain, or problems with vision. Treatment depends on the cause of the infection and may include compresses, eye drops, creams or antibiotics.

Start Here

Eye Problems(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/505.printerview.html

Latest News

Bisphosphonates Cause Rare Eye Inflammation(09/24/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69683.html

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Eye Problems(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/505.printerview.html
Signs of Eye Problems in Adults(Prevent Blindness America) - http://www.preventblindness.org/eye_problems/signsadults.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.preventblindness.org/eye_problems/spanish_signsadults.htm

Treatment

Eyedrops(Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/treatment/eyedrops.cfm

Specific Conditions

Blepharitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/blepharitis/DS00633/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Blepharitis(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/blepharitis/
Chalazion(American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZBDDQNPGE&sub_cat=0
Dacryocystitis(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec20/ch228/ch228e.html
Endophthalmitis(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec20/ch234/ch234i.html
Eye Socket Disorders: Infections(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec20/ch236/ch236c.html
Eyelid Margin Disease, Including Blepharitis(American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZR6HD6WDE&sub_cat=0
Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO)(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/viral/745.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/infections/common/viral/745.printerview.html
Iritis: How Is It Treated?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/iritis/HQ00940/METHOD=print
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)(Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/conditions/conjunctivitis/index.cfm
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pink-eye/DS00258/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Sty(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/sty/DS00257/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Trachoma(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec20/ch229/ch229c.html
Uveitis(Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology) - http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/conditions/uveitis/index.cfm

Related Issues

Contact Lenses and Eye Infections(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/contacts.html
Histoplasmosis(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/histoplasmosis/
Living with Uveitis(Prevent Blindness America) - http://preventblindness.org/uveitis/living/
Taking Your Eye Drop Medication(Prevent Blindness America) - Links to PDF - http://www.preventblindness.org/resources/factsheets/Taking_eyedrops_MK17.PDF

Pictures & Photographs

Blepharitis(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/blepharitis.htm
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/conjunctivitis.htm
Stye (Hordeolum and Chalazion)(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/hordeolumandChalazionStye.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Conjunctivitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Conjunctivitis%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Eye Infections(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Eye+Infections%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Prevalence of trachoma in a population of the upper Rio... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18780261&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Ophthalmic manifestations of HIV infections in India in the era... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18780260&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Corneal graft survival after therapeutic keratoplasty for Acanthamoeba keratitis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18752517&tool=MedlinePlus
Eye Infections -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=eye+infections[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Directories

Find a Pediatric Ophthalmologist(American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus) - http://aapos.affiniscape.com/associations/5371/aapos_search.cfm

Organizations

American Academy of Ophthalmology - http://www.aao.org/
American Optometric Association - http://www.aoa.org/
National Eye Institute - http://www.nei.nih.gov/

Children

Eye Problems: Stye (Hordeolum)(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1050/mainpageS1050P0.html
Keratitis(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) - http://www.chop.edu/consumer/your_child/condition_section_index.jsp?id=-8503
Orbital Cellulitis(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1387/mainpageS1387P0.html
Pinkeye(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/conjunctivitis.html
Pinkeye (Conjunctivitis)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/conjunctivitis.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/conjunctivitis_esp.html

Teenagers

Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/common/conjunctivitis.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/infecciones/conjunctivitis_esp.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Eye Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/eyediseases.html
Eyes and Vision - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/eyesandvision.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Eye Infections is the National Eye Institute - http://www.nei.nih.gov/