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Pink eye in a baby or child: what the signs suggest, what helps, and when to call
For anyone looking after a child with a pink, red or sticky eye: a parent, a grandparent, a foster parent, an aunt or uncle. This page passes on, by name, what six pages of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say: the signs that suggest a virus, bacteria, an allergy or an irritant, what helps at home, when antibiotics help and when they do not, pink eye in a newborn, keeping it from spreading, going back to school, and the signs that mean a call. It builds the questions to ask. Take only what you need today.
Right now
- A newborn with a red or watery eye, drainage, or puffy, red eyelids: CDC says newborns with symptoms of pink eye should be seen by a doctor right away.
- Eye pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision that does not improve when discharge is wiped from the eyes, or intense eye redness: CDC’s page How to Treat Pink Eye says to see a healthcare provider. It does not say how fast and does not name 911.
- Symptoms that get worse or do not improve, bacterial pink eye that does not improve after 24 hours of antibiotic use, or a weakened immune system: CDC says to see a healthcare provider.
- A chemical in the eye, something stuck in it, a blow or a cut is an injury, not pink eye: see When an eye is hurt. That line is ours.
- Contact lenses come out until there are no symptoms or the eye doctor says it is OK (CDC).
If you cannot reach a provider and you are frightened for your child, go to an emergency room or call 911. That line is ours: none of the six pages names 911. This page is not for emergencies.
More help
- The eye was hit, cut or splashed: When an eye is hurt.
- A cold with it, which CDC says viral pink eye can occur with: Cough or cold in a baby or child: what helps, the medicine ages, and when to call.
- Ear pain, which CDC says bacterial pink eye sometimes occurs with: Ear infection in a baby or child: what helps, and when to call.
- A sore throat too: Sore throat in a child: a virus or strep, what helps, and when to call.
- A fever with it: Fever in a baby or child: when to call, and what helps.
- Writing down what happened and when: Symptom diary.
- For a visit: Get ready for your appointment. No insurance: When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- Glasses or an eye exam you can’t afford: When you can’t afford glasses or an eye exam.
- All our free tools.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 10, 2026 on cdc.gov, on six pages, each in English and in Spanish: About Pink Eye, Symptoms of Pink Eye, Pink Eye: Causes and How It Spreads, How to Treat Pink Eye, How to Prevent Pink Eye, and Pink Eye in Newborns. Each English page says it was reviewed on April 15, 2024; so do five of the Spanish pages, and the Spanish About page says December 20, 2024. The page says whose words it is passing on, and what is marked “ours” is our own. Who the pages were written for: everyone, adults and children; one is about newborns. They give no ages for children, and this guide adds none. The 911 line is ours: none of the six pages names 911 or gives a list of emergency signs. Where the English and Spanish pages differ: the Spanish About page says pink eye is one of the most common and treatable eye conditions “in children and adults”, words the English page does not have; and where the English newborns page names “inclusion conjunctivitis” in its line on oral antibiotics, the Spanish page says only “conjunctivitis”. Numbers are the named page’s own. What we left out or did not read: the name of any antibiotic, eye drop or brand, and the amount of any medicine (CDC’s newborns page names the antibiotic hospitals mostly use at birth and an older product; this guide does not); how many days drops are used and how to put them in, which these pages do not give; how long pink eye stays contagious and how many days to stay home, which they do not give either; styes, a scratched eye and other reasons for a red eye; CDC’s pages for healthcare providers, its infographic, and its pages on hand washing and contact lens care (not read); and the school or child care rules of your own state or school. We called no number. It saves nothing and loads no tracking.