Pink eye treatment in Bang Tao
You wake up and one eye is gummed shut. It is red, gritty and watering, and by lunchtime the other one has started. Pink eye moves through hotels, pools and families at remarkable speed. Pink eye treatment in Bang Tao begins by establishing whether it is viral, bacterial or allergic, because only one of those needs antibiotic drops and the other two do not improve with them.
Three causes that look similar
The discharge is the most useful clue:
- Viral — watery discharge, often starts in one eye then spreads, frequently alongside a cold. By far the commonest.
- Bacterial — thick yellow or green discharge, lids genuinely stuck together in the morning.
- Allergic — both eyes simultaneously, intense itching, no infection, often with sneezing.
Itching points strongly towards allergy. Genuine pain, as opposed to grittiness, points towards something more serious than conjunctivitis and needs same-day assessment.
Why it spreads so fast here
Viral conjunctivitis is extremely contagious and survives on surfaces for hours. Shared pool towels, hotel pillowcases, sunglasses passed between friends, and hands that keep rubbing eyes do the rest.
Pool water helps it move between people, and chlorine does not reliably kill it. Wash your hands frequently, use your own towel, and stay out of the pool while your eyes are red. Never share eye drops with anyone, in either direction — the bottle tip touches the eye and carries infection straight to the next person.
Contact lenses — take them out now
If you wear contact lenses, remove them at the first sign of a red eye and stay in glasses until it has completely settled.
Wearing lenses over an infection risks a corneal ulcer, which is a far more serious problem that can permanently affect sight. Throw away the lenses you were wearing when symptoms began, and the case with them.
And never swim in contact lenses, in the sea or a pool. Water trapped behind a lens is a well-recognised route to severe eye infection including acanthamoeba, which is rare, extremely difficult to treat, and genuinely sight-threatening. This is the single most useful thing on this page for anyone who wears lenses on holiday.
How it is treated
Viral conjunctivitis clears by itself over one to two weeks. Antibiotic drops do nothing for it. Treatment is lubricating drops, cool compresses and scrupulous hand hygiene, and the main job is preventing it spreading.
Bacterial conjunctivitis responds to antibiotic drops within a couple of days. Allergic conjunctivitis is treated with antihistamine drops and by identifying the trigger — see allergic reaction.
Clean the lids with cooled boiled water and cotton wool, wiping from the inner corner outward, using a fresh piece for each eye so you are not moving infection across.
Red flags — when a red eye is not conjunctivitis
Come in the same day, or go to a hospital, if there is:
- Real pain in the eye rather than grittiness
- Blurred vision or any loss of vision
- Sensitivity to light
- A red eye in anyone who wears contact lenses
- Redness concentrated in a ring around the coloured part of the eye
- Any injury to the eye, or a foreign body that will not wash out
Pain and light sensitivity together suggest the deeper structures of the eye are involved. That needs assessment today rather than a week of drops and hoping.
Getting through the rest of your trip
Conjunctivitis is miserable rather than dangerous, and it need not end a holiday if you manage it sensibly.
You can go out, eat out and walk around. Sunglasses help considerably with light sensitivity and are worth wearing indoors if it is bad. Cool compresses several times a day genuinely help. Avoid eye make-up until it has cleared and discard anything used during the infection.
What you cannot do is swim, share towels, or wear contact lenses. Flying is fine and does not worsen it. If you are travelling with others, the practical priority is separate towels and pillowcases from the moment it starts — that single measure prevents most household spread, and it is much easier than treating four people. Tell the hotel so linen is changed rather than reused.
Pink eye in children
Children get conjunctivitis constantly, pass it to each other efficiently, and rub their eyes no matter how often they are asked not to. On a family holiday it frequently works through everyone in about a week.
The management is the same, with a few practical differences. Cleaning a small child’s gummed-shut lids is easier with cooled boiled water on cotton wool in the morning, before they are fully awake and objecting. Keep nails short. Give each child their own towel and flannel, marked so they do not get mixed up, and change pillowcases daily.
Most nurseries and schools no longer exclude children with conjunctivitis, but pools frequently do, and a dive school or kids’ club will usually say no while the eye is red. Come in the same day rather than waiting if a child has eye pain rather than grittiness, any change in vision, swelling of the eyelid or the skin around the eye, or a fever alongside it — swelling around the eye in particular needs assessing urgently, not treating with drops. A doctor hotel visit is often easier than a waiting room with a distressed child.
Frequently asked questions
How much does treatment cost?
A consultation with drops where they are needed is inexpensive. Many people need nothing beyond lubricating drops and advice, which costs less again.
How long am I contagious?
Viral conjunctivitis is contagious while the eye is red and watering, often a week or more. Bacterial conjunctivitis stops being contagious about 24 hours after starting antibiotic drops.
Can I swim?
No, not while your eyes are red. You risk passing it to everyone else in the pool and worsening your own eye.
Can a doctor come to my hotel?
Yes. A doctor hotel visit can examine the eye and supply drops, which is useful with children who object to being examined in a clinic.
Can I fly?
Yes, conjunctivitis does not prevent flying. Take your own tissues, wash your hands, and avoid touching shared surfaces more than necessary.
Do I need antibiotic drops?
Only if it is bacterial. Most cases are viral, where antibiotic drops give you the cost and the side effects without any benefit. A short examination tells you which you have.
Come in, or we come to you
Take Care Medical Clinic Bang Tao is open open 24 hours, 7 days a week on Bandon Road in Cherng Talay, a few minutes from Bang Tao Beach and Laguna Phuket. Walk in without an appointment, call +66 81 718 9080, or message us on WhatsApp. If you would rather not move, ask for a doctor hotel visit and we will come to your room.