Self-treatment for Conjunctivitis?

I'd say you should go to the doctor BECAUSE you don't have a regular one. At your age regular checkups and physicals are less important but I think you should use this as a cautionary tale: you now have a condition you may or may not want to see a doctor for and find yourself with a taller slope to climb if you decide to see one. What will it be like if/when you have something more serious? Take this as a sign from the heavens that you should have somewhere you can go if you have a problem without taking time to do research and use AskMe. Go get a GP or find a local clinic. Visit them now that the quality and speed of care is less critical and find out if they're someplace you'd go back to.

I suffered from some bad pink eye recently. I had antibiotic drops left over from a previous bought, so I just took those. I didn't have a doctor either. My situation worsened, and the infection spread to my eyelid and my tear duct. I tried to go to work but they took one look at me and sent me home, so I sucked it up and went to DOCS, a local clinic. The doctor there had me panicked a little. He made me an eye doctor appointment in the morning, and told me that once the infection starts spreading it can get into your cornea and cause blindness. He gave me some new, stronger drops, and the eye doctor also prescribed some oral antibiotics. It took me almost a week to fully recover. I looked like a boxer after a fight and had a constant trail of tears down my shirt -- I was starting to worry that my eye would always look a little deformed. I wished I had seen a doctor immediately rather than trying to self-medicate, and I will never ever screw with my eyes again. Like the others, I'm not telling you what to do, just what I would do -- which is deal with the hassle and get to a doctor asap.

Thanks to everyone for your advice thus far. Some clarifications: 1. The reason I hesitate to visit a doctor is because I don't currently have a doctor, and this condition does not seem to merit the effort of finding one, scheduling an appointment, taking time off work, going there on the bus, filling out paperwork, waiting, and seeing the internist only to be told that I have an infection that is either untreatable (viral) or (as my research indicates) will go away of its own accord. 2. I live alone, and social interaction always takes place outside of my small studio apartment. As such, my risk of transmitting to others is minimal. 3. I already wash my hands quite often which, when coupled with a juggernaut immune system, explains why I am sick so rarely. I've begun using old t-shirts as pillowcases and will be swapping them out nightly. 4. There is no apparent discharge from the eye. It feels a bit more teary than usual, but is not sticky or crusty or glued closed in the morning. In addition, my vision is not blurry, and my eye does not hurt, burn, itch or feel as if there is foreign material lodged within. 5. Whatever redness might have been present when I posted this question at 4:25am is now gone. The affected eye is more or less indistinguishable from the control case, save for a exceedingly minor swelling and tenderness in the upper eyelid. (The swelling seems to be consistent throughout, and not localized as one might expect from a stye.) As of now, my plan is to keep an eye out observe the condition for the next 24 hours and, if the symptoms get worse, I will attempt to locate a doctor. If anyone has recommendations for a worthwhile internist or eye clinic in Seattle (preferably one that accepts Premera Blue Cross), I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks again!

A few years ago, I thought I *just* had pinkeye or conjunctivitis, but it turned out to be iritis, an infection of the iris. I had to see an ophthalmologist for a diagnosis, after seeing a primary care physician. You really need to see a doctor.

I'll fifth, sixth, and seventh getting it taken care of immediately. The reason I suggest the eye clinic (if you have one) is that you can turn up and wait, and they'll know pretty much instantly exactly what it is. A GP won't. This was very true for me... although another time, I lucked out when I went to the ER at a Kaiser hospital and got an ER doctor that had been an opthamologist in a past life, and immediately identified that I had iritis -- which is similar to conjunctivitis in the early-stage symptoms, but can indicate a bacterial infection that left unchecked can be fatal.

For somethihng like pinkeye, if your plan covers it, you could go to an urgent care clinic. No appointment needed, and no commitment to a doctor. This is what I do when I have something minor that needs immediate attention: UTI, ear infection, etc. It always takes too long to get in to see my regular doctor, and for something so common and minor, I know what I need anyway.

As far as what you should do, I make no recommendation. I personally wouldn't go to a doctor for conjunctivitis unless I had copious purulent discharge, a lot of pain, or trouble with my vision. On the other hand, I have the advantage of being a doctor and feeling like I have a good idea of what to look out for. As far as what you should do, I make no recommendation.

When I had insurance but no primary doctor, I called a clinic covered under my insurance and spoke to a nurse practictioner. She asked me several questions about my symptoms and had a prescription for antibiotic gel left for me at the clinic's pharmacy. I didn't request it be done this way; I was actually calling for an appointment. She said it wasn't necessary, but told me if my eye got worse or didn't improve at least a little in 36 - 48 hours, I had to come in. Everything worked out fine and I never had to see a doctor.

most of your post is incorrect as well Ok, I wrote it off the cuff and I was wrong about the use of the term 'conjunctivitis'. But I've been through too much eye stuff to say this shouldn't be taken seriously. And I stand behind the rest of my post. It's true that 'pinkeye' is a completely generic term meaning 'my eye looks pink.' It's true that it can be caused by a large number of different problems. It's true that laypeople can't reliably make good diagnoses of eye problems from apparent symptoms. And it's true that any issue with the eye (that doesn't resolve quickly) is worth a doctor visit. I think going the 24 hours is a good idea. Even then, you may find it was nothing -- I once had an outrageous pinkeye thing for about 10 days. I went to the doc on the 2nd day, and he said it was your basic cold virus and I had to wait it out. It cost $80. But better safe than sorry where sight is concerned.