Additionally, the doctor will need to look inside your child's ears to see if a middle ear infection is present. Medical treatment does decrease the time that the disease is contagious. The antibiotic drops are usually used for children and ointment is suggested for babies. The course of treatment is about 1 week and drops are given about four times a day. The ointment treatment is given about two to three times daily, and can temporarily blur vision.
Viral infections are sometimes treatable with medication, depending on the virus involved.
In most cases, conjunctivitis will often go away by itself without using the prescribed eye drops or ointment, but doctors encourage medical treatment because it decreases the chance of spread of the disease. Other serious eye conditions can mimic infectious conjunctivitis, so if your child complains of severe pain, changes in eyesight, or sensitivity to light, or if the conjunctivitis does not improve in 2 to 3 days, you should contact your child's doctor. Parents can also clean the edges of the infected eye very carefully with warm water and gauze or cotton balls. This technique can also be used to remove the crusts of dried discharge that may cause the eyelids to be stuck together when the child awakens. The Nemours Foundation is a nonprofit organization devoted to children's health and is the largest physician practice delivering subspecialty pediatric care in the United States.