Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Viral Conjunctivitis

Daniel Solano  1 , Lanxing Fu  2 , Craig N. Czyz  3
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Book

Viral Conjunctivitis

Daniel Solano et al.

Excerpt

Conjunctivitis is one of the most common causes of red-eye and affects patients of all ages and socioeconomic class. Viral conjunctivitis is responsible for the majority of infectious conjunctivitis, accounting for up to 75% of cases. Characteristics of viral conjunctivitis include redness, blood vessel engorgement, ocular discharge, pain, photophobia, and pseudomembranes. There is a considerable economic and societal impact due to the costs of visits to the emergency department or general practitioner, diagnostic tests, prescription treatment, and time lost from work or school. Prescribing antibiotics in cases of viral conjunctivitis is one of the major costs of any healthcare system. The rates of antibiotic treatment in the community for patients with infectious conjunctivitis in the United Kingdom range between 80% and 95%. Improvement in diagnostic rates of viral conjunctivitis is estimated to have reduced inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and saved US $430 million per year in the United States. Specific treatments for viral conjunctivitis are currently being assessed in clinical trials. Due to the non-specificity of signs and symptoms, a thorough medical and ophthalmic history with clinical examination should be obtained, especially in patients with atypical signs and a chronic course.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Daniel Solano declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Lanxing Fu declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Craig Czyz declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Keen M, Thompson M. Treatment of Acute Conjunctivitis in the United States and Evidence of Antibiotic Overuse: Isolated Issue or a Systematic Problem? Ophthalmology. 2017 Aug;124(8):1096-1098. - PubMed
    1. Udeh BL, Schneider JE, Ohsfeldt RL. Cost effectiveness of a point-of-care test for adenoviral conjunctivitis. Am J Med Sci. 2008 Sep;336(3):254-64. - PubMed
    1. Rietveld RP, ter Riet G, Bindels PJ, Schellevis FG, van Weert HC. Do general practitioners adhere to the guideline on infectious conjunctivitis? Results of the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice. BMC Fam Pract. 2007 Sep 16;8:54. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Everitt H, Little P. How do GPs diagnose and manage acute infective conjunctivitis? A GP survey. Fam Pract. 2002 Dec;19(6):658-60. - PubMed
    1. Li J, Lu X, Jiang B, Du Y, Yang Y, Qian H, Liu B, Lin C, Jia L, Chen L, Wang Q. Adenovirus-associated acute conjunctivitis in Beijing, China, 2011-2013. BMC Infect Dis. 2018 Mar 20;18(1):135. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types