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Suggest Medication For Conjunctivitis

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Posted on Mon, 18 Jan 2016
Question: i have a friend who has bad pink eye...she has pain and doesn't want to go to er any otc ideas??

thanks

Col Lunt
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (6 hours later)
Brief Answer:
tobradex could help in some cases

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I would strongly advise to persuade your friend to visit an ophthalmologist because some of the potential causes of pink eye may lead to permanent visual loss if treated inadequately. If your friend does not want to go and wants to try something for it, I would suggest tobradex which contains an antibiotic (tobramycin) and a corticosteroid (dexamethasone). Please note that in some cases this drug may cause additional problems to the eye (for example in mycobacterial or herpetic insult).

So in conclusion, I believe that the right thing would be to visit the ophthalmologist. The wrong and perhaps dangerous thing to do would be to take an OTC drug or do nothing. If your friend is choosing the wrong way then dexamethasone would cover for most causes but not all and it may possess some risk for the eye depending on the cause.

Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3809 Questions

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Suggest Medication For Conjunctivitis

Brief Answer: tobradex could help in some cases Detailed Answer: Hello, I would strongly advise to persuade your friend to visit an ophthalmologist because some of the potential causes of pink eye may lead to permanent visual loss if treated inadequately. If your friend does not want to go and wants to try something for it, I would suggest tobradex which contains an antibiotic (tobramycin) and a corticosteroid (dexamethasone). Please note that in some cases this drug may cause additional problems to the eye (for example in mycobacterial or herpetic insult). So in conclusion, I believe that the right thing would be to visit the ophthalmologist. The wrong and perhaps dangerous thing to do would be to take an OTC drug or do nothing. If your friend is choosing the wrong way then dexamethasone would cover for most causes but not all and it may possess some risk for the eye depending on the cause. Kind Regards!