Pink eye spreads rapidly in elementary schools, as kids rub their eyes and spread or pick up germs. Children do not always wash their hands, and tend to touch their faces often. Perhaps a child with pink eye rubs his eye and then picks up a blue crayon. After he’s done perfecting his drawing, your daughter might pick up the same crayon. A minute later, she rubs her eyes, too. Such everyday scenes are how germs spread. Pink eye travels quickly and is highly contagious. It seems that nothing can stop this disease from spreading, short of shutting down school districts until the illness has passed. So how can you keep your child healthy while pink eye is sweeping through the school?

Various remedies might be employed at the administrative level of your child’s school – from requesting that sick children be kept home until the pink eye has cleared, to spraying disinfectant on every child’s desk in the morning and afternoon. As a parent, you can also help your child understand how to avoid contracting pink eye. When children understand why they are being asked to behave in a certain way, they are more likely to follow your advice. For example, if you tell your child not to share his or her sunglasses, you might be contradicting earlier instructions to share and be generous with others. If you explain how pink eye can travel, and why certain actions will keep both your child and his or her friends healthy, then your child is more likely to understand and comply.

If your child already has pink eye, it is important to see a doctor. There are actually a number of different types of pink eye, all with different causes. Having your child’s condition properly diagnosed will ensure a quicker recovery. Read on under “Defined” for information on the different causes of pink eye. Then see “Symptoms” and “Treatment” for more on what these conditions look like, and how they are treated.